Candied Citrus Peel (Christmas)

This was made for the Christmas supper. and was based on recipes from allrecipes.com and Epicurious.

Ingredients

• Mandarins
• Oranges
• Water
• White sugar
• Dark chocolate
• Caster sugar
• Dark chocolate

Method

1. Prepare the peel first. Slice about 1cm off the top and bottom of the fruit, then cut the fruit into eight even vertical segments. Using a very sharp knife, cut the peel away from the pith and fruit so that there is basically just a strip of peel. You may need to “shave” away the pith a couple of times until it’s thin enough.
2. The next step is blanching the peel, which makes it softer and removes some bitterness. Place the peel into a large saucepan of cold water, and bring to the boil. Place a colander over the sink. As soon as the water reaches boiling point, pour the contents of saucepan into the colander. Blanch the peel twice more, or stop sooner if the peel becomes floppy.
3. Put 1 cup of white sugar to 1.5 cups of water in a medium-sized saucepan, and heat until the sugar has fully dissolved. (Note that you’ll need to do multiple saucepans for different batches of peel.) Reduce the heat to low, and add the peel to the sugar syrup (it should all be submerged), allowing it to simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the peel turns translucent it is done. If the syrup starts to brown, remove the peel and begin again.
4. Allow the peel to cool and dry a little on a wire rack for a couple of hours. Then place each segment of peel on a chopping board, and slice into thin strips. At this point you can roll it in either caster sugar or dip it in melted chocolate.
5. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Advertisements