Candied Peel

Candied peel is actually so easy to make, I never thought about making it until I went to the supermarket and they wanted to charge by £2.50 for a small pot. After a bit of research, I found out this is pretty easy to make your self, and the satisfaction of making it myself.

Candied Peel

Candied peel has been around since the 14th century, where pieces of peel are placed into heated sugar syrup and then preserved. Generally candied peels are made from citrus fruits like oranges, lemon and grapefruits.

 

Candied Peel

A lot of Christmas recipes like mincemeat, Christmas cake and steamed Christmas pudding use candied peel, hence my need to make some. I filled up 2 jars with just an orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit, so it does go along away. 

Candied Peel

You could add these to any bakes like cookies or cakes, specially something like a fruit citrus loaf. The peel gets this rather jelly type look to them, and the peel actually softens up. Boiling the peels a few times before actually candy-fying them helps remove the bitterness from the peel, but keep the strong tart taste. 

Candied Peel

Once made, you can keep these in air tight jar for months kept in a cool cupboard. If you need a quick sweet but tart tang, pop one into your mouth and they are like a chewy natural tangy sweet. Even my husband asked how I made these, as he liked them!

Candied Peel

Ingredients
1 Orange
1 Grapefruit
1 Lemon
1 Lime
175g Sugar – plus extra for coating
200ml Water

Instructions

Candied Peel

Slice the tops of the fruits

Candied Peel

Remove the pulp from the peel, so that you are left with peel. 
Candied Peel

Slice the peel into smaller strips and bring to the boil in water. 

Candied Peel

Once boiling, drain out the water and repeat 3 times. This helps to remove the bitterness from the peel.

Candied Peel

Now reboil 200ml of water and the sugar. 

Candied Peel

Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, the water will thicken and turn into a syrup type liquid.

Candied Peel

Remove the peel from the syrup and lay the peels on a dryer rack keeping them separated.

Candied Peel

Allow the peel to dry over night.

Candied Peel

Roll the peel in the sugar

Candied Peel

Store the peel in a glass jar with a tight lid. 

[yumprint-recipe id=’106′]

Leave a Reply