Candied Citrus Peel is easy to make and a great way to use left over citrus peels. Candied citrus peel is delightful to eat by itself or can be used in other baked goods.

My daughter was the pickiest eater when she was small. It started early when she refused to take a bottle no matter what type we tried or what was in the bottle. She weaned straight to a cup.

When she was teething, I decided to try biscotti as an alternative to teething biscuits. She didn’t like the biscotti either but all my friends did.

Because my friends loved biscotti, I bought a biscotti cookbook. It included a recipe for candied orange peel. I don’t know why as they didn’t use it in anything. However, this candied citrus peel recipe turned into an easy way to stock my kitchen with preserved citrus and ginger ever since.

My kids love fresh grapefruit so I had a lot of grapefruit peel and decided to try the recipe. Their recipe made a LOT of citrus peel. I gave most of it to older friends who said they’d enjoyed candied citrus peel as children.

You can use any kind of citrus peel. Lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits all make beautiful peel. You can also use this recipe to make crystalized ginger. You can add candied citrus peel to cookies, biscotti, ice-cream, and other candies or just eat it by itself.

The key is to not have too much of the rind attached to the peel. The peel contains the essential oils but the rind is bitter. To candy the peel, just slice it thin and boil in sugar water. Lay the peel out on a silpat mat to cool.

If you want, you can also pour disks of the remaining sugar syrup into disks. They will harden into orange-flavored candy.

Dip the ends in chocolate or sprinkle on melted chocolate for bark. Use whole or chop candied citrus peel for garnish. Put a slice in your hot tea when you don’t have fresh lemons available.

Here’s an additional tip for candied citrus peel.  Instead of cutting citrus fruit in half crosswise, cut it in half lengthwise. You can still juice it and you will be able to make long strips of peel for this recipe.

Yield: 1 cup candied peel

Candied Citrus Peel

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Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups sugar
• ½ cup water
• 3-4 cups thinly sliced citrus peel

Instructions

1. Put peel in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Strain off water. Cover the peel with water and repeat 2 more times.
2. Put sugar and water into a saucepan. Cook on medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture starts to boil.
3. Add thinly sliced citrus peel. Boil for 10 minutes or until the mixture reaches the softball stage (235°F).
4. Use tongs to remove citrus peel and spread on a silpat mat or cutting board.
5. Let cool and then dredge peels in sugar to keep them separated. Store in a dry, sealed container.