Tsuki no Shizuku (Fondant-Coated Koshu Grapes)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 85 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 50 servings
- Ingredients
- 3
About this dish
Bite through a firm, crumbly white sugar shell and the tart juice of a fresh Koshu grape bursts out.
Read more
One Yamanashi story traces the sweet to a grape that fell into boiling sugar at a Kofu confectioner in the Edo period. The shell is fondant, syrup boiled and then worked until it turns white, and the grapes need thick skins like Koshu. Thin-skinned or bruised grapes split open in the warm fondant.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- 1
Wash Koshu grapes, drain the cluster for 30 minutes, and dry every grape with a clean cloth.
Cut 50 grapes away with 2cm stems and spread on a completely dry tray.
- 2
Combine 250g sugar and 90ml water in a completely dry heatproof metal bowl.
Heat over high heat and stir gently with a dry spatula only until dissolved, without splashing droplets onto the sides.
- 3
Stop stirring, insert a candy thermometer, and keep high heat.
When large bubbles become small and the syrup reaches 112 to 114C and threads, wear heatproof gloves and remove it immediately.
- 4
Set the bowl bottom immediately in cold water without letting water enter the syrup.
Cool to 40C while watching the thermometer, remove, and dry the outside bottom.
- 5
Beat and press the syrup vigorously with a dry pestle or sturdy wooden spatula.
Work quickly for 8 to 12 minutes through the stiff white stage until it gathers again as a soft white fondant.
- 6
Transfer fondant to a small pan on an electric hot plate set to 200C.
As the edge loosens, lower the surface setting to 160 to 180C and stir smooth with a dry spatula.
- 7
Hold each stem with long tweezers, submerge one grape completely in fondant, and lift at once.
Place apart on parchment, cool 20 minutes, and trim long stems once the shell is firm.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
「やまなしの食 まるごと体験ハンドブック」 · Checked: 2026-08-11