Marron glacé / Candied chestnuts breaking up. How to avoid this?

Question

I always use frozen chestnuts to make marrons glacés since I can find those all year long (not only during winter) and because they're already pealed.
I can cook them in simmering water without making them split or break up. But they always start breaking up on the third or fourth day when candying them.
How can I prevent them from breaking into pieces and keep them whole?
When I candy them, it's 75% sugar, 25% water, brought to boiling point. I turn off the heat, wait for the boiling to stop, and put the basket inside the pot. And wait 24 hours before next plunge.
Thanks for any help

Debroah Harris · Accepted Answer

I have not made Marron Glaces. However I have been researching how to make them and found someone, who had used a washed onion bag to put the chestnuts in to stop them breaking up. Apparently this works. So even though I have not made them I saw your question while researching and thought I would pass on this tip to you. Hope it works for you.

Deborah

casperOne · Answer

This is a guess, but I'm assuming the sugar concentration in the syrup that you're using is way too high.  After a few days, the water evaporates off and the sugar is left in a crystalline form inside the chestnuts.

This makes them very brittle at which point you see the breaking.

If this is the case, I can recommend two things:

Reduce the rate at which the sugar in your confections crystallizes; left in the open air, you're going to lose moisture which is part of the problem.
Increase the water ratio.  I'd start with a simple syrup (1 part water to 1 part sugar) and move up and down from there.  Of course, your going to sacrifice some sweetness as a result, and you don't want too much water, as you'll end up making the chestnuts too soft.  You'll have to adjust the balance to your tastes/tolerances.

Marron glacé / Candied chestnuts breaking up. How to avoid this?

2 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question