Candied Citrus Peel - The Topic

[mrose]

Kerry

Thanks I will try it out. I assume you let the sugar solution & peels cool completely between each boiling.?

Do you know the name of the 1 on ginger?

Mark

Edited December 18, 2006 by mrose (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry

Thanks I will try it out. I assume you let the sugar solution & peels cool completely between each boiling.?

Do you know the name of the 1 on ginger?

Mark

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Not sure of the thread but Andiesenji has the recipe in recipeGullet. I'll see if I can find the link.

Andiesenji's recipe in recipeGullet

Link from Andiesenji to Melinda Lee site

One of the threads on DIY candied fruit

I think if you PM Andiesenji she can probably link you to the appropriate threads. The whole crockpot thing looks great. I plan to try it as soon as I see the young ginger in the asian market.

[Chef Bradley]

I plan to try it as soon as I see the young ginger in the asian market.

I found young thai ginger in the frozen section of my local asian market. Goes by the name of "Galangel" if you're curious.

Also, thanks for the link to DIY candies fruits, very handy

Edited December 18, 2006 by Chef Bradley (log)

[Kerry Beal]

I plan to try it as soon as I see the young ginger in the asian market.

I found young thai ginger in the frozen section of my local asian market. Goes by the name of "Galangel" if you're curious.

Also, thanks for the link to DIY candies fruits, very handy

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I use galangel for other purposes, never thought of candying it. Wonder how it would taste?

[andiesenji]

Galangal is related to ginger and the flavor is somewhat similar but it is different and I have found it to be milder.

Galangal, lesser and greater.

This topicArtisanal Christmas prezzies,

has my method of getting the peel off the orange in detailed photos in post # 163

I have been using this method for many years. Someone showed me how to do it this way a long, long time ago and I thought this was the way everyone did it when harvesting the peel for candying.

For small batches of candied peel, this method is very handy.

My method for candied citrus peel in the microwave.

Edited December 18, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[Pan]

I find galangal VERY different from ginger, and way more aromatic! It is not the same at all! I agree with Andie that it's "milder" in the sense of not being "hot and spicy," but otherwise, I find its taste stronger!

[andiesenji]

Pan,

Have you ever noticed an "earthy" flavor in fresh galangal? I agree with you that it imparts a lot of flavor for the amount used, but it lacks the "bite" that I prefer in fresh ginger.

(I don't like pu-erh tea either.)

I buy the dried galangal rhizome, store it in a vacuum bag in the freezer, and grate it when needed.

I like the flavor of the dried much more than I like the fresh, just the opposite of ginger.

Edited December 19, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[Pan]

Yes, definitely an earthy taste, which I like.

[Sararwelch]

I candied orange peel using the microwave recipe posted a while back, and it came out great. I tried to use the same recipe to candy buddha's hand, that didn't work as well. The buddha's hand was still really bitter at the end of the process, and when I tried to cook it for a few minutes longer, it burned.

I candied meyer lemon peel a few days ago - it's good, but very different than the orange peel. The texture is much softer, and there's still a hint of bitterness at the end.

Is candied citrus peel supposed to be soft or firm? Should there be any bitterness at all? Are there any guidelines for stuff like this?

[andiesenji]

It is the pre-cooking in several changes of water that removes much of the bitterness. There should still be a bit, that enhances the flavor - as in marmalade made with Seville oranges.

You might try a tiny pinch of kosher salt in the water. I use a pinch when I do grapefruit peel if it is particularly bitter. I also cut off a little piece and bite into it to see how it tastes before I put it into the syrup.

[Sararwelch]

If it's still too bitter after the three rinses, should I microwave it again for 10 min and rinse? The buddha's hand was pretty bitter even after 3 rinses.

[Pam R]

Just a note that I've merged several candied citrus peel topics here.

[andiesenji]

If it's still too bitter after the three rinses, should I microwave it again for 10 min and rinse? The buddha's hand was pretty bitter even after 3 rinses.

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Sorry to answer so late. I was away from home much of the day.

I sometimes have to use 5 or 6 changes of water to lessen the bitterness in some fruits.

Pomelo is often tricky and I have to trim off a lot of the white part.

The worst problem I ever had was with some bitter oranges - the grafted parts had died back after a freeze and new growth from the root stock was the original bitter orange - absolutely full of seeds but the skin was exceptionally aromatic - as I have found Buddah's Hand lemons to be. It has been a few years but I think after 6 sessions of boiling, I ended up tossing the peel with pickling lime and leaving it overnight, then rinsing and boiling one more time and that smoothed out the sharp bitterness without losing the orangy flavor.

You could also try leaving it in the syrup at room temp overnight, then bringing it to a boil again then letting it cool before removing from the syrup.

[Sararwelch]

I candied my buddha's hand - I changed the water six times, and used a little kosher salt for the first boil. I let it sit in the syrup for a few hours. It's delicious!

[andiesenji]

Congratulations! A job well done.

Have you tried dipping part of the candied citrus in chocolate?

I received a PM this evening from a person on another forum who said she had successfully candied lime peel. I have never had much luck with lime peel, it always seems to turn a rather unappetizing gray during the simmering in the syrup. When I prepare lime marmalade I practically shave the slices and the tiny thread of peel becomes transparent. I don't understand the chemistry that gives this result.

[Sararwelch]

The first time I tried your recipe I used a really brightly colored orange. It's funny, it had a very different consistency than what I've made with meyer lemon peel and buddha's hand. The orange peel was much firmer, and the sugar syrup got much thicker. There was no bitterness at all with the orange, it almost tasted like one of those orange slice candies.

Chocolate orange peel:

Candied buddha's hand:

[foodie3]

The first time I tried your recipe I used a really brightly colored orange. It's funny, it had a very different consistency than what I've made with meyer lemon peel and buddha's hand. The orange peel was much firmer, and the sugar syrup got much thicker. There was no bitterness at all with the orange, it almost tasted like one of those orange slice candies.

Chocolate orange peel:

Candied buddha's hand:

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please, post the recipes you used, at the moment i'm collecting the the orange peel.

[JBN]

I am, as I type, cooking Meyer lemon peel in syrup according to the directions in The Sweet Life, which fyi calls for bringing the peel to a boil four times. She says the peel can be stored in the syrup in the fridge, but doesn't give instructions on drying it once it's removed from the syrup. The peel is cut into 1/16-inch widths, so I'm concerned that just scooping them out with a strainer and rolling them in sugar to dry isn't going to work. I want to use them to decorate a meyer lemon tart and would prefer the candied peel be dry for the change in texture. Any suggestions on how best to do that and how long it will take? I'm making the lemon curd and candied peel today, but not putting together the tart until Wednesday.

Edited December 24, 2006 by JBN (log)

[Sararwelch]

I used andiesenji's microwave recipe from recipegullet. I've tried it with orange peel, meyer lemon peel and buddha's hand.

JBN, after you take the peel out of the syrup, let it dry on a cooling rack - when it gets to the point where it's just slightly sticky, roll it in sugar.

[JBN]

Thanks, Sara, but I'm afraid the zest is much too thin too dry on a rack. And perhaps I cooked the syrup too long, but it's so thick I'm not even sure how I'll remove the zest from it. Any suggestions? If I do figure out how to remove the zest, perhaps I could just dry it out on waxed paper? Do you think that might work.

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks, Sara, but I'm afraid the zest is much too thin too dry on a rack. And perhaps I cooked the syrup too long, but it's so thick I'm not even sure how I'll remove the zest from it. Any suggestions?  If I do figure out how to remove the zest, perhaps I could just dry it out on waxed paper? Do you think that might work.

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Heat it to remove it from too thick syrup, then dry on waxed paper or rack.

[andiesenji]

I have made candied orange peel "strings" actually peeling the orange on one of the electric "Rotato" peelers, after I squeezed the blade into a "V" shape to get a very narrow string.

After candying, while the syrup is still hot, I place a perforated steel chinois over a bowl or another pan and pour syrup and peel into it to strain and as soon as most of the syrup has drained, I use a broad blending fork made of wood or now a silicone one, to lift the strings onto a cooling rack. These are the black non-stick cooling racks with a bit more than 1/4 inch openings.

If you don't have time to get racks with openings this fine, use the Release alum. foil to cover a regular cooling rack and punch holes in it to allow the syrup to drain.

[foodie3]

can you share you recipe and technique for candying large amounts (from 10-12 oranges) of peel?

[andiesenji]

I can't give you exact amounts because the volume of various types of peels vary considerably, depending on how thick and how dense.

The process is not an exact science as in baking, time and number of times needed for pre-cooking in changes of water, wil vary.

I recently made a batch of peel from grapefruit that took very few sessions in clear water and candied up nicely in the minimum amount of time.

The next batch I did took twice the number of par-boiling sessions and three times the time in the syrup to become translucent all the way through. The thickness was exactly the same but the type of grapefruit was different.

For microwave peel:

The best way to figure how much syrup you will need is simply by placing your peel in a microwavable bowl or pot (I use a large Pyrex bowl or a "Visions" round pot that I think is a 6 quart).

Then cover with water so you have 1 inch more than the volume of the peel (if it all doesn't sink, press it down), more is better than less because you have to allow for evaporation.

Next, pour the water into a large measure (I use the 2-quart pyrex ones with a handle on one side and a pouring spout) and write down the number of cups.

For each cup of water you will need 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar. If cooking in the microwave use 3/4 cup, if cooking in a Crockpot or slow cooker use 1 cup for each cup of water.

When you do the pre-cooking or par-boiling, use a generous amount of water so the peel can be stirred or agitated freely. This will cut down on the number of sessions.

I use far more water for the par-boiling than I do when I prepare the syrup for candying.

[foodie3]

I can't give you exact amounts because the volume of various types of peels vary considerably, depending on how thick and how dense. 

The process is not an exact science as in baking, time and number of times needed for pre-cooking in changes of water, wil vary.

I recently made a batch of peel from grapefruit that took very few sessions in clear water and candied up nicely in the minimum amount of time.

The next batch I did took twice the number of par-boiling sessions and three times the time in the syrup to become translucent all the way through.  The thickness was exactly the same but the type of grapefruit was different. 

For microwave peel:

The best way to figure how much syrup you will need is simply by placing your peel in a microwavable bowl or pot (I use a large Pyrex bowl or a "Visions" round pot that I think is a 6 quart). 

Then cover with water so you have 1 inch more than the volume of the peel (if it all doesn't sink, press it down), more is better than less because you have to allow for evaporation.

Next, pour the water into a large measure (I use the 2-quart pyrex ones with a handle on one side and a pouring spout) and write down the number of cups. 

For each cup of water you will need 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar.  If cooking in the microwave use 3/4 cup, if cooking in a Crockpot or slow cooker use 1 cup for each cup of water. 

When you do the pre-cooking or par-boiling, use a generous amount of water so the peel can be stirred or agitated freely.  This will cut down on the number of sessions. 

I use far more water for the par-boiling than I do when I prepare the syrup for candying.

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thanks, i'll do both the par-boiling and cooking on the stove since i have a large amount of orange peel and the microwave method seems a bit limiting.