Recipe

Dirt Candy

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Recipe
2 Questions

Photo by Sarah Shatz

Chef
amanda's Notes: A few years ago, a New York restaurant opened called Dirt Candy, a reference to vegetables. I always loved this name. Then our first intern at food52, Helen -- you remember Helen! -- showed...
A few years ago, a New York restaurant opened called Dirt Candy, a reference to vegetables. I always loved this name. Then our first intern at food52, Helen -- you remember Helen! -- showed me how to make real candy out of dirt candy.

Dirt candy was a trick Helen learned while working as a cook at Prune in New York City. There, they would cut butternut squash into tiny cubes, shower it with sugar and let it sit for a few days.

Indeed, as Helen showed us, over the course of a few days the tiny cubes let go of their moisture and raw flavor and shrunk, yet retained their crisp snap.

I've tried the recipe with both raw and white sugar. Conventional white works best. I've also extended the trick to beets and carrots, which work well, although the butternut squash sweeps the dirt candy field.

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Makes 1 cup

1 cup butternut squash cubes (1/4-inch) Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

Combine the butternut squash and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for 30 minutes. Mix again. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 days, stirring once a day. Taste and decide when it's ready. Enjoy your candy!
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9 Comments on Dirt Candy

Galapagos added 4 months ago

Harold McGee says in pretzel baking the lye (NaOH; another chemical base similar to lime) gelatinizes the surface starch which then dries during baking to that characteristic glossy finish. he later comments that the lye reacts in the oven with carbon dioxide to "form a harmless carbonate."

besswww added 7 months ago

I made this and am a bit confused -- the end result seemed like slightly less raw butternut squash soaked in sugar water, sort of the texture of carrots but artificially instead of naturally sweet. Did I do something wrong? One thing I noticed is that the sugar melted pretty fast when I put it in with the squash (which was naturally damp from cutting). Should it have?

Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.

added 7 months ago

You didn't do anything wrong! I've made this a number of times and sometimes, I think with younger squash, the syrup is quite watery, whereas with older squash (which contains less moisture), the syrup ends up heavier. But yes, it really is just lightly "cured" by the sugar, so it should taste a little raw, a little sweet. I made a batch the other night and added some salt with the sugar. That had a nice effect.

Sasha (Global Table Adventure) added 7 months ago

Oh my goodness - this is perfect to make with my toddler - fun, sweet, and healthy. Thank you.

Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.

added 7 months ago

Glad you like it!

Droplet added 7 months ago

This reminds me of something my grandmother used to make called "rachelle" , which involved soaking pumpkin in lime (as in lime solution, not the citrus), then cooking it very slowly in white grape syrup and sugar. In the end there were these candied cubes of pumpkin and a very concentrated thick pumpkin syrup.

Amanda is a co-founder of Food52.

added 7 months ago

So interesting. Is lime ok to consume? And where do you get the lime and the grape syrup?

Galapagos added 4 months ago

Lime (calcium hydroxide) solution is what soft pretzels and bagels are dipped into before baking. It's what makes them shiny. Probably hydrolysis some of the protein in the flour.

ellenl added about 1 year ago

How clever!