Candied peel is easy to make, and tastes about much better than the shop bought variety. It can be used in recipes, or enjoyed on it's own as confectionary.
Ingredients
- lemons
- oranges
- grapefruit
- sugar
Method
- Quarter the fruit.
- Peel them.
- Boil the peel in water, using separate pots for each kind until soft (may be up to 1 1/2 hours).
- Change the water at least 3 times
- Drain and boil together for 20-30 minutes.
- Allow 4oz sugar and 8oz water for each orange. Count a lemon as 1/2 orange, and a grapefruit as 2 oranges.
- Heat slowly, dissolving the sugar in a big pot.
- Bring to the boil, then add the peel.
- Simmer gently, stirring occasionally until all the syrup is absorbed. This should take about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
- Put the pieces on a lightly oiled rack over some paper.
- Store it somewhere warm, dry, out of the way and dust-free.
- Leave it for about 4-5 days to dry, turning a couple of times.
- Put the peel in an air-tight container.
Tips
- Buy unwaxed fruit
- Keeping the pith results in thicker, juicier candied peel.
- Changing the water during the initial boiling helps remove the bitterness from the pith.
- The drying out time can be decreased by carefully heating in a very low oven.
