A recent search for ready-made candied citrus peel to include in a recipe for Stollen, a sweet German Christmas loaf, ended in frustration. All I could find were syrupy strips of candied orange peel at Sahadi’s, a legendary Brooklyn grocery whose year-end menu of candied peels used to include hefty slices of translucent citron. The orange peels were laced with sulfites, presumably to preserve their neon hue. At home, I looked wistfully at the few remaining pieces of sugared orange and lemon peel that I had bought as a memento in Aix, in the south of France, in March. Soft but chewy, tasting of the fruit, not overwhelmingly bitter, and sulfite-free. Also, pretty and not glow-in-the-dark.
A citrus-season DIY project ensued, a deep and deliciously sticky dive into the gentle art of candying their peels. Massive pomelos, fragrant yuzu, mottled blood oranges, and even tiny Kishu clementines were laid bare, their peels set to bathe in jars of syrup that looked like bottled sunlight in my winter kitchen.
I now have enough candied citrus peel to gift, to nibble, to serve to friends (even enemies), and to include in a cornucopia of breads, cakes, and cookies. Making this versatile confection requires four things: Citrus peel, sugar, water, and time.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
While there are many ways to make candied citrus peel, the technique I have adapted is the gentlest (and slowest) I know, and it is drawn from an old cookbook whose pages never fail to surprise, educate, inspire, intrigue, or simply entertain. Translated by Joyce Toomre, Elena Molokhovets’ Classic Russian Cooking—A Gift to Young Housewives contains everyday and esoteric ingredients, baffling measurements and weights, and occasionally astonishing period details about how a certain class lived and ate in 19th century Russia. With the exception of one initially confusing sequential misdirection (it’s unlikely that many or even any of these recipes were tested), the instructions for Candied Orange Peel are straightforward. Molokhovets’ gradual method calls for soaking and boiling the peel in water, followed by more soaking in an increasingly concentrated syrup. It yields delicately tender, candied citrus peel so appealing in flavor that it requires earnest self restraint not to eat a plateful for dinner.
Start today, and expect your candied peel to be ready in nine days. We all need something to look forward to!
The method demonstrated here is for big, chunky pomelo, whose extra-thick pith becomes a sponge for flavor. Oranges and grapefruit work well, too.
It seems a shame to toss out the substantial peels of pomelos, and their thick layer of pith makes for outstanding preserves. But any thick-skinned citrus peel works well, here, so feel free to substitute oranges or grapefruit.
Candied Pomelo Peel
Candying citrus peels is occupational therapy at its finest—tactile and fragrant, requiring moments of focus, and hands-off contemplation, for days.
While the instructions seem lengthy, the method is deeply simple, and is summarized as follows: Weigh the peels, double their weight in sugar and water, and soak them in that syrup. The final sugaring is optional, but it adds crunch and also makes the dried candied citrus peel easier to store without the pieces sticking.
- 1 pomelo (or 2 – 3 oranges or grapefruit)
- Sugar
- Water
Cutting and sectioning: Wash and dry the pomelo. Slice off the top and bottom of the skin. Cut into the peel deeply, top to bottom. Section the peel into 8 equal pieces, and gently pull each piece intact from the fruit. Trim off any loose pith from each piece, leaving most of the pith (its candied texture is wonderful). Slice each piece into 3 or 4 longitudinal strips.
Soaking, cooking, soaking: Soak the peels overnight in a large bowl of water (they will float, so weigh them down with a plate or another bowl filled with water). Drain the water and fill a pot with fresh water. Add the peels and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the water is simmering, and cook until tender when pierced, about 1 ½ hours. Drain the peels, and soak them once more in cold water for at least an hour (or up to 24).
Drying and weighing: Drain the soaked peels, and roll them dry in a clean dishtowel. Weigh the dried peels. Weigh out double their weight in sugar. Keep half of the sugar in reserve in a jar or bowl. Weigh out double the peels’ weight in water.
Soaking in syrup: Place the peels upright in a jar that holds them without being squeezed. Combine their same-weight sugar and double-weight water in a pot and bring to a brief boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Allow this syrup to cool a little, then pour it carefully over the peels in the jar. It should cover them. If it doesn’t, boil up more sugar with double its weight in water. Add a lid to the jar and place on a counter (I use a boiled river pebble to weigh the peels down if they float up out of the syrup).
Leave 3 days. Pour off and boil the syrup again, adding half the remaining sugar. Pour this stronger syrup over the pieces. Add the lid, and wait 2 days. Repeat one more time: boil the syrup, adding the last portion of reserved sugar. Pour it over the pieces, and leave another 2 days, for a total of 7 days’ soaking.
Concentrating the syrup: After the third and final soaking, drain the peels, and boil their syrup until it is thick and reduced by about two-thirds. Arrange the peels in one or two layers in a shallow dish. Pour the concentrated syrup over them. Leave overnight.
Drying: Remove the peels from the syrup*, arrange the pieces in a single layer on a wire cooling rack or racks that you have placed on baking sheets covered in parchment paper. Place for 30 minutes in a very cool oven (250°F or less). After 30 minutes turn off the heat and leave the racks in the oven for an hour. Repeat twice (250° or less for 30 minutes, turn off heat for 1 hour, and again). Remove from the oven and leave out at room temp for 24 hours. The pieces should be slightly sticky, chewy, but very tender.
Sugaring (optional): Spread a thick layer of sugar in shallow bowl. Toss the peels in the sugar until they are coated. Store them upright in glass jars or in layers in lunch boxes, with parchment between the layers. Kept airtight the peels last upwards of six months.
More mentions of Elena Molokhovets:
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