Soft Lemon Candied Peel in Syrup
A natural, fragrant treat and a wonderful filling! It looks and tastes a lot like lemon jam, but it's really candied peel—the difference is that after simmering in sugar syrup it isn't drained or dried. On its own it's already a delicious, ready-to-eat treat. It's also fantastic as a layer or filling for rich, yeasted, sponge, shortcrust, and pound-cake batters. You can use it to decorate all kinds of pastries, too, or spoon it over pancakes or ice cream.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
Gather your ingredients. Rinse the lemons thoroughly.
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Step 2:
Scrape the membrane off the peel with a spoon. Cut into strips about 1/4 inch (0.5–0.6 cm) wide.
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Step 3:
Cover with cold water and leave for two days, draining and replacing the water with fresh every 5–7 hours. Soaking draws out the bitterness. You can get away with just a day—it'll be a touch more bitter—but there's no point soaking longer than 2 days, since the peel loses its shape and looks once you cook it.
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Step 4:
Blanch the soaked peel in boiling water for 10 minutes, covered. Repeat this cycle three times.
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Step 5:
Each time, drain off the boiling water and rinse the peel under cold running water to cool it down.
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Step 6:
For the last two boils, add 1 teaspoon of salt per 2 liters of water. The salt does a great job of pulling out any remaining bitterness.
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Step 7:
While the peel goes through its blanching cycles, make the syrup: pour 1,400 g of sugar into a saucepan, add 600 ml of water, and stir. Cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
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Step 8:
Drop the peel into the boiling syrup and cook over low heat. Adjust it so it bubbles gently and steadily, without spattering or stalling. Leave it uncovered.
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Step 9:
Cook for about 50 minutes, until the syrup reduces, but leave enough liquid to keep all the peel submerged. Let it cool and steep for 8–12 hours; I leave it overnight.
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Step 10:
The finished peel turns translucent and a beautiful amber color. The syrup thickens to a viscous, jelly-like consistency.
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Step 11:
Spoon the cooled jelly and candied peel into dry, sterile jars and seal with screw-top lids—plastic ones work fine too. Store in the fridge. Ours always goes fast, so I just make a new batch. This makes nearly three half-liter (1-pint) jars.
- There's no need to make this in big batches or put it up for the winter, since citrus is available year-round.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Granulated sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Sugar - 398 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Lemon peel - 47 kcal/100g
