[Sca-cooks] Re: Seeking a good recipe for candied citrus peel

[Ruth Frey]

     FWIW, my own method is really similar to Renata's, but with a few 
differences on prepping the peel.  I don't know if I'm especially 
sensitive to the bitter compounds in citrus peels or not, but I've 
never liked just taking the peel and boiling it.  That still leaves 
the peel too bitter for my palate, and adds a "cooked" flavor I don't 
care for.  

     I prefer following the method outlined in some of the Period 
sources (sorry, don't remember which ones off the top of my head, 
though I could look them up; I seem to recall Platina is one), which 
involves a long sequence of "cold" soaking.  I usually do this for 
oranges, but it will work on other citrus (it worked really well the 
time I tried it on lemons!).  It takes longer to set up than the "fast 
boil" method, in terms of number of days (about a week to 
completion).  But, the amount of work most of those days is next to 
nothing, so if you plan ahead it's not a hassle.

    My method: take a knife and score the orange's peel so you can 
remove it in about 4-5 vertical sections.  Try to keep each piece of 
peel as whole as possible -- large pieces make the scraping and 
handling easier.  Using a blunt spoon, scrape the white pith from the 
inside of the peel sections, being careful not to "dig" too hard 
(you'll puncture or tear the peel).  I usually scrape till I can see 
the little bumps on the back side of the peel clearly.

     If you don't want to end up with a ton of oranges to eat all at 
once for a big batch, I've found that you can do the peel'n'scrape 
thing, then store the scraped peels in the freezer before moving on to 
soaking.  You can build up a goodly pile of peels that way, one or two 
oranges at a time.

     Next, take a large non-reactive (glass, plastic, stainless steel) 
bowl or pot, put in your peels, cover with cold water, put a lid or 
plastic wrap over the top, and put it in the refrigerator.  For the 
next 3 - 5 days, pour off the water every morning and evening, and 
replace with fresh water.  Soaking time will vary with your oranges.  
I often nibble a little piece of the peel to test for the relative 
bitterness when I think the batch is getting close.  When it tastes 
about the way I want it, drain the peels and pat them dry with towels.

     Then, cut the peels into bite-size strips, and proceed with the 
sugar syrup step exactly as Renata has it.  My last variation is to 
roll the peels in a mix of powdered ginger and granulated sugar (about 
1:3 ginger to sugar), instead of straight sugar, cuz I like the little 
bit of ginger "brightness" it adds to the flavor, but plain sugar 
works fine, too.

     And, last of all, I, too, discard the syrup.  My dainty taste 
buds find *that* to be a little too bitter, too; I'd originally had 
visions of saving it for ice cream or pancakes or whatever, so I was a 
little disappointed . . . :(

                   -- Ruth