Tutti-Frutti: Colorful Candied Fruit Cubes From Raw Papaya

Tutti-fruity, a colorful combination of chopped and candied fruits are used in cake decoration and ice creams. In India tutti-fruity is made from raw papaya. Here is the step-by-step instructable on how to make tutti-fruity at home.

Step 1: Raw Materials

• Raw Papaya: I got this one from my neighbor's home garden. It weighed about 750 grams. After chopping and cleaning, I got about 500 grams of papaya cubes.
• Vanilla Essence: Adding a few drops will enhance the flavour.
• Different food colors
• Sugar 500 grams, which is equivalent to the weight of papaya cubes

Step 2: Equipment

• A knife to chop the papaya
• Peeler to remove papaya skin
• Strainers
• A large spoon
• About six (equal to the number of colors) metal or glass containers
• One large vessel with lid for blanching papaya cubes

Step 3: Prepare the Papaya

Before peeling and cutting the papaya, we need to drain out the milky sap from the fruit.

• Keep the raw papaya on a metal plate and make thin incisions along the sides as shown.
• The sap will start oozing from the incisions as soon as they are made.
• Leave it on the plate till the sap stops seeping out from the cuts.

Step 4: Peel and Slice

• Peel the outer skin using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife.
• Slice the papaya with the knife
• Remove the seeds and inner tissue with the knife
• Wash the slices in running water to remove any sap sticking to the surface

Step 5: Make Cubes

Cut the papaya slices into cubes of about one fourth inch size

Step 6: Blanch the Cubes

• Take sufficient quantity of water in a large vessel and bring it to a boil
• When the water starts boiling, add the papaya cubes to the water
• Keep boiling for about two to three minutes
• Turn off the flame and cover the vessel with the lid
• Keep the papaya cubes in hot water for five more minutes with the lid on
• Drain out the water and store the blanched cubes separately

Step 7: Candy With Sugar Syrup

• Boil about half a liter of water in the large vessel. You can wash and use the same one used for blanching
• Add 500 grams of sugar in the water. Heat till all the sugar dissolves
• Add blanched papaya cubes to the sugar syrup
• Keep the flame on till the papaya cubes are softer and sweeter. You can take out samples at intervals to check this
• When the papaya cubes are candied to satisfaction, put off flame.
• Add two to three drops of vanilla essence or any flavoring agent of your choice

Step 8: Coloring the Papaya Cubes

• Add a pinch of different food colors in the six containers
• Using a ladle pour out equal amount of papaya cubes with sugar syrup in each container
• Mix well each container separately using the large spoon. Wash and dry before using the spoon in different colors
• Leave this mixture for about 10 to 12 hours undisturbed

Step 9: Drain and Dry the Cubes

• After about 12 hours, strain colored cubes from each container separately
• Spread the cubes on a piece of cloth. Here I have used a layer of news paper also under the cloth so that the cloth and paper can absorb the moisture from the cubes.
• Keep the cubes under a fan for drying.
• Once the cubes are somewhat not so sticky to touch, you can transfer each colors separately into plates and allow them to completely dry without any moisture
• The left-over sugar syrup can be reused for other projects

Step 10: Our Tutti-Fruity Is Ready

Our tutti-fruity is ready once the cubes are completely dried and not sticky to touch. Press random cubes with your fingers. The cubes may be soft but there should not be any liquid oozing out from the cube.

Store the tutti-fruity in clean glass bottles in your refrigerator. These colorful candied fruits can be used in cakes, breads, cookies, buns and as topping for ice creams.