Candied chestnuts

Peel the chestnuts and soak them in water with alum

Put the chestnuts and the gardenia fruit wrapped in a dish towel into a pot and add plenty of water. Place over medium heat and boil for about 10 minutes, then skim off the scum and boil for a further 20 minutes

Remove from heat, rinse under running water, then return the chestnuts to the clean pot, add a little more water than needed to cover them, and bring to a boil

Once it starts to boil, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and keep the heat low until small bubbles appear. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar every 5 minutes, repeating this process about 8 times. Cover with a drop lid made of parchment paper during cooking to allow the flavor to penetrate better

After simmering for a total of about 50 minutes, remove from heat, serve in a bowl and it's done