Candied fruit
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Primrose
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Camed across this, as we were going to experiment with making Apple Chartreuse, an old Elizabethan apple gelatine dish which calls for candied peel. Looks like a rather time consuming process though.
HOME MADE CANDIED PEEL
Makes: at least 500g
Ingredients
2 lemons
2 oranges
1 pink or ruby grapefruit
1 pomelo
600g granulated sugar
Method
Scrub the fruit thoroughly. Slice off the top and bottom of each fruit then cut the peel in wide strips, from top to bottom, making sure that the pith remains attached to the skin. It will make the peel far more succulent once candied. Place each variety of peel in a separate pan, fill with cold water and boil until soft. Depending on your fruit, this can take up to 90 minutes. Keep the water replenished with a freshly boiled kettle.
Drain and place all the peel in one saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring up to the boil and cook for a further 20 minutes before draining.
Meanwhile dissolve the granulated sugar in 300ml water in a large thick-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Bring up to the boil and gently stir in the peel. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the peel has absorbed virtually all the syrup. You should allow 2 hours 45 minutes for this.
Lightly oil a grill rack and line it with greaseproof paper. Arrange the peel in a single layer on the rack to enable it to dry. If possible, put in a warm place, like an airing cupboard. Allow 3 to 4 days to dry, turning over twice during this time, to allow both sides to dry. It is very sticky. Once it its dry, store in an airtight jar. Snip into smaller pieces as and when you need it.
HOME MADE CANDIED PEEL
Makes: at least 500g
Ingredients
2 lemons
2 oranges
1 pink or ruby grapefruit
1 pomelo
600g granulated sugar
Method
Scrub the fruit thoroughly. Slice off the top and bottom of each fruit then cut the peel in wide strips, from top to bottom, making sure that the pith remains attached to the skin. It will make the peel far more succulent once candied. Place each variety of peel in a separate pan, fill with cold water and boil until soft. Depending on your fruit, this can take up to 90 minutes. Keep the water replenished with a freshly boiled kettle.
Drain and place all the peel in one saucepan. Cover with cold water, bring up to the boil and cook for a further 20 minutes before draining.
Meanwhile dissolve the granulated sugar in 300ml water in a large thick-bottomed saucepan over a low heat. Bring up to the boil and gently stir in the peel. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the peel has absorbed virtually all the syrup. You should allow 2 hours 45 minutes for this.
Lightly oil a grill rack and line it with greaseproof paper. Arrange the peel in a single layer on the rack to enable it to dry. If possible, put in a warm place, like an airing cupboard. Allow 3 to 4 days to dry, turning over twice during this time, to allow both sides to dry. It is very sticky. Once it its dry, store in an airtight jar. Snip into smaller pieces as and when you need it.
Claudia Roden's old but classic 'Middle Eastern Cookery' has good recipes for candied fruit and what the Egyptians call 'spoon sweets' - sort of half way between candied fruit and jam, served by the spoonful with inky coffee. Go see, they sound lovely. She has one for whole candied oranges which is amazing (takes ages).
i have had mixed success with candied fruit (took 2-3 weeks, and boiling sugar + babies don't mix)... but just wanted to add that if they don't come out looking pretty (which, sad to say, was the case with my attempt) a heavy dipping in melted chocolate made them disappear quite flatteringly. ;>