Clementine peels

[Kahrs]

I have a recipe for a chocolate tart with clementines, peels and all. My simple question: the clementine box always has a note about the use of fumigants and culinary grade wax. Can I use the peel directly or should I (a) scrub peels carefully or (b) skin and forget about the peel?

[miladyinsanity]

Buy organic?

I've been wanting to make candied peel, but can't find any organic oranges that are within my price range (think poor student).

[Dora S]

You could rinse the clementines thoroughly with water and soak them in water with vinegar for 5 to 15 minutes. Use about 2 tablespoons of vinegar to a litre of water. Rinse them with water again before use.

Hope that helps!

[dystopiandreamgirl]

Buy organic?

I've been wanting to make candied peel, but can't find any organic oranges that are within my price range (think poor student).

←

here's what I do - go to the local co-op/natural food store/whatever produce manager; ask who is ordering cases of organic citrus fruits to juice; contact them and ask if you can pick up their peels every 5 days or so - you'll get a decent quantity this way, and for free. Also if there's a juice bar in town they are likely to be throwing out organic peels and would be glad to give them to you.

here's a candied orange peel dragon

[miladyinsanity]

Buy organic?

I've been wanting to make candied peel, but can't find any organic oranges that are within my price range (think poor student).

←

here's what I do - go to the local co-op/natural food store/whatever produce manager; ask who is ordering cases of organic citrus fruits to juice; contact them and ask if you can pick up their peels every 5 days or so - you'll get a decent quantity this way, and for free. Also if there's a juice bar in town they are likely to be throwing out organic peels and would be glad to give them to you.

here's a candied orange peel dragon

←

Ooh! I didn't think about that! Thanks!

[andiesenji]

At any health food store you can find a spray bottle of stuff that is made specifically to remove the wax from fruit. It works. It isn't cheap.

However, I use baking soda, dry - I buy it in the large industrial size at Smart & Final - you can find it at other places.

I put a couple of cups of the soda in a bowl - dry - and scrub the fruit with the stuff. It is just abrasive enough to remove all the wax and it works on apples, pears, citrus of any kind, etc.

You can test the surface of the fruit by scraping it with an inverted teaspoon.

The local health food market puts the entire fruit through the juicer, peel and all. Perhaps yours is different. However it is more time consuming to peel the fruit which is why most of these places use whole fruit.

I get most of the citrus I use for candied peel from a grower in Ojai. His brother is a neighbor and brings me 5-gallon plastic buckets full of beautiful, untreated citrus. They know I like the kind with the thicker skin for candying so that is what I get. Most people prefer the fruit with finer pores, smoother, indicating thinner skin.

Edited November 23, 2006 by andiesenji (log)

[miladyinsanity]

Thanks Andie. I'll pick up an large bag of baking soda when I'm next at the baking supplies shop.