Candied lemon peel

When I started making historic 18th-century recipes from a French colonial fortress on the coast of Canada, I figured that there would be ingredients that I would have trouble buying. I mean, we’re talking recipes from 275 years ago.

I didn’t think that candied lemon peel would be one of those ingredients, however. Seems like something that would be used in baking today, regularly. Alas, I have still not found it in any of the stores I’ve searched.

Luckily, I discovered that it’s really easy to make candied peel! (And then I discovered that my candied peel easily and steadily disappears from its jar, as it has become a treat for kids and adults both).

Candied peel is frequently used in From the Hearth, in dishes like Frangipan Pie, Lemon Meringues, and Dessert Cream.

This recipe is kind of an amalgam from a few different sites. You can make this with only lemons, or add the peels from other citrus fruits too. (I added mandarin oranges, because we had them).

Ingredients

4-6 lemon peels, cut in 1/4" wide strips
2 cups white sugar
1.5 cups water

Coating:
1/2 cup white sugar

Instructions

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add lemon peels and cook for 10 minutes (removes bitterness). Drain peels and set aside. 

Add 1 cup water and 2 cups sugar to the pot, and heat until sugar is dissolved. 

Add lemon peels to pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer and cook until a candy thermometer in the mixture reads 230F. This takes a while! Expect about an hour. 

Drain the syrup (but save it for flavouring other things!) using a strainer, and roll the sticky peel pieces in the last 1/2 cup of white sugar. Leave on a rack overnight to dry. Store in an airtight container. 

The peels ended up being infused with sugar all the way through (you can see they are sort of translucent-looking now).

Don’t put them away too early. They really need quite a long time to dry. Don’t worry, they don’t become hard, but after the drying time they will keep their shape a bit more and won’t stick to each other in the jar.

This candied peel was really dead easy to make, even though it took a while. The result is bright, sweet, citrus-y good stuff. Just keep them out of reach of the kids if you want to keep enough to use them in your recipes!

Got other uses for candied peel? Let us know in the comments!