Last week I went on a little trip to tour the Mariani Family packing facilities. Even if you’ve never heard the name “Mariani,” you’ve encountered their products; they have an extensive line of dried fruit and related snacks, and they’re also responsible for the raisins in Kellogg’s Raisin Bran (and Raisin Bran Crunch). The tour was fascinating, and they let me take a bunch of dried fruit home with me—some might say “too much.”
Luckily, chewing on dried fruit—especially while (legally) chemically altered—is fun. It gives your mouth something to do. But dried fruit, especially sweetened dried fruit like the Philippine mango and tropical pineapple, can get a bit cloying after a while, so I grabbed my tub of citric acid and started dipping.
Much like Mariani, “citric acid” might be another name you’re unfamiliar with, even though it is something you have definitely encountered. It’s found on the surface of all your favorite sour candies, but is also used to heighten the tartness in citrus desserts, and as a pH-adjuster in commercial foods. It’s like sour MSG, a way to increase acidity without increasing the volume of liquid in a recipe, and it packs an almost violent punch. Mix it with a little sugar and stick it on some dried fruit, and you’ve got a Sour Patch Kid birthed by Mother Nature herself.
Take care with citric acid
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Before you begin, taste a little citric acid on its own to fully appreciate its power. I think you will find it potent. Even if you can eat Warheads like, uh, candy, you should temper the sour powder with sugar. I mixed up a 50/50 mixture of citric acid and plain table sugar, and it was still almost overwhelmingly mouth-puckering. (It is, after all, crystalized acid.) Start with a ratio of two parts sugar to one part citric acid, and adjust as needed.
There are two ways you can get the powder to stick. If your fruit is thick and chunky—like the dried pineapple segments—you can cut a piece in half to reveal a sticky inside, then dip the exposed portion into the powder. If you’re working with something thin and floppy—like the dried mango—you can dip it briefly in a simple syrup (I used this one), tap off the excess, and dip the damp portion into the powder. You may be tempted to try and coat the entire piece of fruit in sour powder. Don’t. It will hurt your tongue.
Sour Fruit “Candy” recipe
Ingredients:
- Sweetened dried fruit of your choice (I like pineapple and mango)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon citric acid
- Optional: Simple syrup
Slice any chunky fruits in half to reveal their sticky inside, and cut any large pieces into manageable bites or strips.
Combine the sugar and acid in a small bowl. If you want a superfine powder, combine them in the food processor.
Dump the powder mixture on a plate. If working with pieces of chunky fruit, dip the freshly exposed, sticky side into the powder. If working with thin, floppy strips, dip 1/3 of the strip into the simple syrup, tap off as much excess as you can, then dip into the powder. Enjoy immediately, or store in an air-tight container with wax paper between layers.