Soft Candied Citrus Peel Food

SIMPLE CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

Steps:

• Cut peel on each orange into 4 vertical segments. Remove each segment (including white pith) in 1 piece. Cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Cook in large pot of boiling water 15 minutes; drain, rinse, and drain again.
• Bring 3 cups sugar and 3 cups water to boil in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add peel. Return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until peel is very soft, about 45 minutes. Drain.
• Toss peel and 1 cup sugar on rimmed baking sheet, separating strips. Lift peel from sugar; transfer to sheet of foil. Let stand until coating is dry, 1 to 2 days. DO AHEAD: Wrap and freeze up to 2 months.

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Peel lemons with vegetable peeler; cut strips into thiness of your preference.
• Simmer water in a sauce pan, add rinds and let simmer for 10 min, remove.
• Bring sugar and water to a boil; let boil for 3 min until it becomes a syrup.
• Add rinds, reduce heat and let simmer in syrup for 5 minute Remove and let cool.
• Use rinds for garnish once cooled.

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Cut the fruit into 8 wedges, then cut out the flesh, leaving about 5mm thickness of peel and pith. Cut each wedge into 3-4 strips.
• Put the peel in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 mins. Drain, return to the pan and re-cover with fresh water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 mins.
• Set a sieve over a bowl and drain the peel, reserving the cooking water. Add 100g sugar to each 100ml water you have. Pour into a pan and gently heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the peel and simmer for 30 mins until the peel is translucent and soft. Leave to cool in the syrup, then remove with a slotted spoon and arrange in 1 layer on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Put in the oven at the lowest setting for 30 mins to dry.
• Sprinkle a layer of sugar over a sheet of baking parchment. Toss the strips of peel in the sugar, a few at a time, then spread out and leave for 1 hr or so to air-dry.
• Pack the peel into an airtight storage jar or rigid container lined with baking parchment. Will keep for 6-8 weeks in a cool, dry place.
• To make into a delicious gift, melt the chocolate in a small bowl. Dip the candied orange peel into the chocolate to half-coat them, shaking off the excess. Put them on baking parchment to set, then pack into small cellophane bags tied with ribbon or pretty kitchen string.

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Using a swivel-bladed vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the fruit, leaving the bitter white pith.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the peel into strips, according to intended use. If you want to use the candied peel on cakes or tarts, cut it into matchstick strips; if candying to dip in chocolate, cut the peel into larger strips.
• Place the strips in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, drain, and refresh under cold running water.
• Return to the saucepan, add the sugar and 1/2 cup water and cook over moderate heat until the liquid has evaporated and the peel is bright and shiny.
• Spread peel on a sheet of foil to cool, separating the strips.
• Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator. The candied peel will keep for up to 6 months.

SOFT-CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Using a sharp vegetable peeler and working from pole to pole, remove the zest from the citrus fruits in strips about 1 inch (3 cm) wide. Try to remove only the colored portion of the rind and leave the bitter white pith on the fruit. (If you've peeled too deeply, you can lay the strips flat on a counter, pith side up, and carefully trim away the pith with a knife.) Using a sharp knife, cut the strips of zest lengthwise into pieces about as narrow as a wooden match.
• Put the peel in a medium saucepan and add water to generously cover. Bring to a boil and cook until the peel is soft and translucent, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Drain the peel and discard the water. In the same saucepan, bring the 2 cups water, sugar, and corn syrup, if using, to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the drained peel, decrease the heat to maintain a gentle boil, and cook until the peel is translucent and the syrup is thick, about 20 minutes.
• If you like, you can use a candy thermometer to gauge doneness; the mixture should register about 210°F (100°C).
• Let cool, then transfer the peel and syrup to a clean jar, cover tightly, and refrigerate until ready to use.
• The peel will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 months. If you don't use the corn syrup, it might recrystallize. If it does, warm it slowly, adding a little water if necessary, to untangle the pieces.

SOFT-CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Wash the fruit thoroughly in warm water. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest in strips about 1" wide, avoiding the bitter white pith. (If your peeler cuts too deeply, lay the strips, pith side up, on a counter and scrape off any pith with the blade of a knife.) Cut strips lengthwise into slivers the width of a wooden match (about 2-3mm).
• Place the peel into a small saucepan and cover with water by 1-2" (this is NOT the water called for in the ingredients). Bring to a boil and cook until soft and translucent, 5-6 minutes. Drain.
• Bring 2 c water, sugar and optional corn syrup to a boil in the same saucepan. Add the drained peel, reduce heat to a gentle boil, and cook until peel is translucent, about 20 min (a candy thermometer should read 210°F).
• Let cool, then transfer to a tightly sealed jar and refrigerate.

CANDIED ORANGE

Steps:

• Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. (Test kitchen liked the texture of a 3 time blanch best, it also mellowed the bitterness. But it is a matter of preference.) Remove the orange peels from the pan.
• Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes (If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.) Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. Drain the peels, (save the syrup for ice tea.) Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Return to the sugar to store.
• Cook's Note: One way to use orange peels is to stuff a dried date with a piece of orange peel and almond, then dip the entire thing into dark chocolate.

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Quarter fruit lengthwise and remove peel (including white pith) in 1 piece from each quarter, reserving fruit for another use.
• Cut peel lengthwise into 1/3-inch-wide strips (if using grapefruit, cut peel in half crosswise first). Put peel in a large bowl and cover with cold water, then soak 1 hour. Drain in a colander.
• Blanch peel:
• Transfer peel to a wide 4- to 6-quart heavy pot. Add cold water to cover by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, then drain in colander. Repeat blanching process 2 more times. Cover peel once more with cold water and simmer until skin side is tender, about 30 minutes, then drain in colander.
• Cook peel in syrup:
• Return pot to stovetop and add 6 cups sugar and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Wash down any sugar crystals clinging to side of pot with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Add food coloring (if using) and boil syrup, uncovered and undisturbed, until it registers 220°F on thermometer, about 30 minutes. Add peel and simmer over low heat until translucent, about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let peel stand in syrup, uncovered, at room temperature 8 to 12 hours.
• Return syrup with peel to a boil and boil, uncovered and undisturbed, until it registers 226°F on thermometer, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let peel stand in syrup, uncovered, at room temperature 8 to 12 hours.
• Return syrup to a boil once more and boil, uncovered and undisturbed, until it registers 228°F on thermometer, about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let peel stand in syrup, uncovered, at room temperature 8 to 12 hours.
• Dry and coat peel:
• Reheat syrup with peel over low heat just until syrup has liquefied (peel will have absorbed most of syrup), then drain peel in colander. Immediately spread peel, separating pieces, on 2 metal racks set in 2 shallow baking pans and dry, uncovered, until just barely sticky, 8 to 24 hours.
• Spread 1/2 cup of remaining sugar on a plate and roll each piece of peel in sugar to coat well, then transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Add more sugar as needed to coat remaining peel. (Pour sugar through a medium-mesh sieve occasionally to remove bits of peel and clumps of sugar.) Dry sugared peel on wax paper 1 hour.

CANDIED CITRUS PEEL

Steps:

• Cut fruit into quarters; peel the rind (peel!) off. Cut peel into desired shape; make all the pieces the same so they cook the same.
• Put peel piece into a saucepan, cover with water, bring to boil, drain and repeat.
• Repeat step #2 two more times.
• After the third boil, leave peel in the strainer.
• Put 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of water into the saucepan and 2 tablespoons of corn syrup into the sauce pan. Bring saucepan to a simmer on medium heat, add peel. If you're not using corn syrup, you will need to put the lid on the pan to simmer it for 6 minutes before continuing. Let it cook, uncovered, at a rolling simmer until it is done. For hard-ish candy, cook until the liquid is almost gone, and for chewy candy cook until only 3-5 spoonfuls of liquid is left.
• Put peels into strainer and let cool until you can touch it.
• Put peels into a bowl, add some sugar, and toss them together. Toss every 15 minutes until really cool and the candy is coated with sugar.
• For best results, spread the candy on racks to dry. For harder candy, cook it and dry it for longer, for soft and almost chewy candy, cook and dry it less.
• Store candy in airtight containers. If you store them in the fridge they will seem very hard- but only because they are cold!