I am in the midst of making candied trinidad perfumes again, and thought it might be helpful to post some of my thoughts as I was making them. Last year was my first attempt at candying anything, so there was a touch of a learning process going on. (Note this recipe is EASY for a first-timer, so these are just tips you might find useful.)
RichardK's post says to leave the seeds in the pods. IMO this isn't really necessary, so if you're a seed-saver, go ahead and remove them. Why? As you cook them, a good number of the seeds come out, anyway. "Good number" being most. It's kind of visually appealing to have some seeds in there, so I pulled out the ones that were easily accessible (trin perfs are small pods), and left the ones that weren't. I still had a significant number of seeds floating in the syrup.
While you need the pods to completely submerge into the syrup while they cook, don't be overly concerned if they aren't completely covered at first. The pods will soften and reduce in size as they cook; just be sure to stir frequently.
When I made these last year, I poured the pods into a strainer set over a jar before moving them to the parchment-lined pans. This way I gathered the syrup for later use, plus the pods drained before I moved them to the paper. Only as the pods cool, they get sticky, which makes them a tad bit more difficult to work with. This year I left them in the saucepan, and fished the pieces out between two forks. The forks let the syrup drain off, and they were easier to grab in the liquid.
There is a part of me that wants someone to tell me how long I should boil the pods. But in thinking about it further, this isn't really a good idea. It really depends upon the actual temperature of your burners, as well as things like altitude. In other words, it will take longer for some than for others. So use your eyes - make sure the pods become translucent before turning off the heat.
Safety - I found that things can change very abruptly while bringing the syrup to a boil, and while boiling the pods. Things seem to go slowly at first, but resist the temptation to leave it alone for a while. Also, keep in mind that boiling hot sugar is just that - HOT. And it seems to take a lot longer to cool down than one might think. So be patient - let it cool significantly before taking the leftover syrup out of the pan. If you want to save the syrup, pour it into a clean (preferrably boiled) glass jar, after letting it cool quite a bit. You could put it into a plastic jar if you know you are going to use it pretty quickly, but make sure it is really cool before attempting to pour it into one.
RichardK's directions say not to let them touch when they're on the parchment. While you don't want them clumped together, if they're touching a tad, don't sweat it.
Keep in mind the candying process actually happens in the saucepan - the real purpose of putting them in the oven is just so they dry out faster. Like I said above, if you want better color, pop the oven temperature down a bit.
I decided to experiment a bit this time, and added some ground coriander to the mix. When these come out of the oven, I'll post a couple of pics and let you know what I think about having the coriander in there.
