Tsuki no Shizuku (Fondant-Coated Koshu Grapes)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 85 min
- Level
- Hard
- Servings
- 50 servings
- Ingredients
- 3
About this dish
Tsuki no Shizuku is a Yamanashi confection made from fresh, thick-skinned, tart Koshu grapes.
Read more
Each grape is cut from the cluster with a long stem, dipped in white fondant made by boiling sugar and water to 112 to 114C, cooling it to 40C, and beating it vigorously, then left to set. A firm but crumbly white sugar shell keeps the fresh juice inside. One origin story says a grape fell into boiling sugar at a Kofu confectionery during the Edo period. Moisture can make hot sugar spit and prevent an even coating, so dry grapes and tools completely and never touch the 114C syrup with bare skin.
Ingredients
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Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
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.
- 2Control
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.
- 3Control
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.
- 4Step
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.
- 5Step
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.
- 6Finish
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.
- 7Step
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.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Fifty fully dried Koshu grapes with 2cm stems
- Finish cue
- Work quickly for 8 to 12 minutes through the stiff white stage until it gathers again as a soft white fondant.
- Storage and reheating
- One origin story says a grape fell into boiling sugar at a Kofu confectionery during the Edo period.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official cooking and food safety guidance.
This recipe
85min, 3 ingredients
Category median
45min, 6 ingredients
Based on 144 recipes