Here’s the curve ball.
This time of year it’s impossible to get candied citrus peels around here…and I expect in a lot of other places as well. Who’s up for making some from scratch?
This time of year it’s impossible to get candied citrus peels around here…and I expect in a lot of other places as well. Who’s up for making some from scratch?
I have often thought of doing that (added to a long list). Glace Apricots, Pears, Pineapples… I understand it’s not difficult but it is time consuming.
Candied peel doesn’t take as long as whole fruit, but that might be fun to talk about this week.
Thanks James!
– Joe
One thing leads to another. Soon I’ll have to start getting better at tempering chocolate… A slippery slope.
Ain’t it the truth? And forget tempering…you’ll need a conching machine soon, then a cacao bean roaster…it never ends.! 😉
– Joe
Could you please be a little more specific about what exactly “this time of year” this is? Many of your readers are in the Northern Hemisphere, and will at this very moment be emerging from what are sometimes called the “dog days” of summer. But candied orange peels: Aren’t they sort of a Thanksgiving/Yule thing? Or is your point that we need to start early?
Ah yes, I forget that you San Franciscan live in a climate apart from the rest of us, no? Being August, most of the large grocery chains don’t have any candied citrus peels yet. The tend not to start rolling in until October, when the earliest of the early birds start making their Christmas fruitcakes. All I could find at my local Kroger was some maraschino cherries!
– Joe
Yippee, lets go… there is plenty of citrus fruit on the trees and my stash of candied fruit is nearly gone. I thought about mailordering from the manufacturer but my few past adventures with candying fruit peel resulted in much more flavorful product. Then how ’bout we make some Yorkshire Fat Rascals, eh?
I haven’t thought about those in years! Nice idea, Brian! I may have to mix up a few with any candied fruit I have left over.
– Joe
I adore ricotta pie with nuts and candied citron, but candied citron is available only during the holidays. I have hopes of someday finding Buddha’s hand citron at a local (Honolulu) market and making my own.
This is very odd to me. Candied peel is something we can ALWAYS get. It’s cheap, and is in every supermarket beside the nuts and raisins and crystallised ginger. It is such a standard ingredient for fruitcakes. But you don’t have the fruitcake tradition there, do you?
Maybe your candied peel is different? Ours is this stuff http://www.tasti.co.nz/index.php/products/baking-favourites
When I make my own (just because I like to do things with what otherwise goes in the rubbish) I leave the peel in big bits.
Oh yes, we certainly do have a fruitcake tradition here…long and deep. However we can usually only get the candied fruits (those very same ones in the link) come the holiday season. I’m sure if I looked hard enough I could probably dig some up somewhere. I just thought it would be more fun to go from scratch this time.
– Joe
I am, I am! I have a huge bag of lemons that I need to deal with and had thought about candied peel for some of it. Do it!
Then we’re on! 😉
– Joe
YES PLEASE, Joe!
Oh, and some special tricks to prevent them from tasting bitter. Which is my experience when I’ve tasted it home made before!
Hey Tora!
I’m pretty sure that has to do with how much of the pith you’re able to trim off. I’ll be curious to try it!
– Joe
… and don’t forget multiple blanchings in boiling H2O to help reduce the bitterness…
Thanks, Brian!
– Joe
Well some of us have tons of candied fruit left over from those pannetone experiments last Christmas. Just sayin’. ;>
Aside from that, I get insanely jealous whenever I hear people mention those citrus trees in their back yards that are now so overladen with fruit they just can’t think of enough ways to use them! Ay! Lemons are almost a buck apiece in NYC!
Hah! Yes…glad you brought that — ehem— up. I myself have seen a few citrus trees here in Louisville, though this is as far north as most of them can probably grow. I’ve wanted to sneak through some garden gates to help myself to the odd lemon or lime but never got the courage up. I have no idea if the citrus you can grow here is any good.
– J
My grandma used to make them and boiled to peels with water several times, to prevent the bitterness. Very expensive here, so definitelt making them.
We never buy them. Candied peel is super easy to make… not much harder than making simple syrup. Mind you, we also make our own apricot glaze, candied carrots (for carrot cake), and mirroir glaze. We’ve also resisted the temptation to go with frozen croissants and still make our own of those P.I.T.A. $%*$%* critters.
Maybe it’s just the “El Cheapo” in me. Maybe it’s because I’ve convinced myself that hand-made is best-made.
Cheers
I’m cheap AND a do-it-yourselfer, Paul. So either rationale works for me.
Thanks for the email!
– Joe
OH YES, please. Did I say please?
(I haven’t yet successfully candied grapefruit peel. I am hoping it is because I am impatient.)
I’ll see if I can get to it today, Jenny!
– Joe
so… not throw a curve ball… but the biggest problem I’ve had is with longevity of home-made candied peels. The factory stuff lasts forever. I expect that at the end of time all that will remain are cockroaches, candied peel, and maybe a fruitcake or two. The factory probably adds preservatives to their peel; I have no idea what makes cockroaches and fuitcake last so long. But my home-made peel quickly molds. Can you help us solve that problem too, while your at it?
Brian, I’m on the case.
– Joe
Hi joe my sister and I slice up orange peel when it’s in season, dry it at a low temperature and when needed, reconstitute it with syrup. The peel cooks up really well.
Thanks Gwyneth. I need to try that this winter!
– Joe