Almond Comfits (also known as sugared almonds) is a traditional British recipe for a classic sweet (candy) of blanched almonds coated in layers of sugar. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Almond Comfits.
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Comfits typically represent seeds or nuts covered in a clear coating of sugar. From Tudor times onwards, the most popular comfits in England were those made with caraway seeds. Typically, these were consumed at the end of a meal with a glass of spiced wine as a carminitative medicine to prevent indigestion and flatulence.They were also used to adorn marchpanes, trifles, banebread and whigs. In general, these were a type of 'smooth' comfit and looked like little pearls and were made by coating the almonds in a medium-strong sugar solution.
Ingredients:
30 blanched almonds
240ml Gum Arabic
250ml hot water
granulated sugar
Method:
Wash and dry the almonds. Use a mortar to break the gum Arabic into very small pieces (the smaller the better) then add these to 250ml of hot water. Stir the almonds into the gum Arabic mixture and stir with a spoon until the gum mixture becomes a thick, treacly consistency. Stir in the almonds then strain off the excess gum arabic.
Pour onto a greased baking tray and separate the nuts then set aside to harden. Once the almonds are dry prepare a simple syrup by dissolving 200g of sugar in 1l of hot water. Place the almonds in a small baking dish, pour over 60ml of the sugar syrup then gently warm the pan.
As the comfits begin to dry in the warm pan swirl them around with your fingers and rub through your hands so that each comfit is separated. Initially the comfits will appear grey, but as they take on more of the syrup they will turn pearly white.
Once the almond comfits are dry give them a further 10 coats of syrup, drying thoroughly each time. Store the comfits in a clean and dry jar and use as needed. If you want coloured comfits, then simply add a little food colouring to the final few syrup solutions.
