Candied Citrus

Nothing says #covid19cooking like conserving everything, “just in case.” After 3 weeks of being house-bound, we are certainly holding on to precious goods: the last remaining eggs, the last remaining TP rolls, the last stick of butter, and in the case of this recipe, clementine and citrus peels.

Explanation: We started quarantine in mid-March with two big bags of clementines, which we failed to consume quickly enough. As the fruit started passing peak ripeness, and there were still several left, I decided to candy them instead of throwing them out.

CANDIED CLEMENTINE SLICES

(cf: The Crepes of Wrath & The New York Times)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• thinly sliced clementines (I sliced mine in the food processor)

Instructions:

1. Simmer the clementines in lightly boiling water for an hour. Remove, drain, dry.

2. Heat water and sugar together in a medium pot. Simmer until sugar is dissolved.

3. Add softened clementine slices. Simmer for an hour, with a sheet of parchment paper on top to keep them immersed in the syrup.

Remove, drain, and cool on a wire rack.

CANDIED PEEL

You know those plastic tubs of itty bitty glacéed fruit bits you can buy during the December holidays for fruitcake? Apparently you can make peel at home too. Turns out that homemade peel tastes *much* better than its store-bought cousin.

Explanation: Today is Good Friday, so in a perhaps-1000-years-old-tradition of British baking, I made hot cross buns. However: Not only have I found hot cross buns mildly disgusting in the past when I’ve used candied citron from the store, but I’m also pretty sure stores near me don’t stock it outside of fruitcake season. (Besides, why pay to order packaged candied peel during a pandemic, when you can make your own for free?!)

This recipe is nearly all from Alton Brown, and it is seriously yummy. I used peels from clementines and lemons, since those are the fruits from which we’ve been saving peels.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of citrus peels, diced and with any lingering citrus segments and pulp removed
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sugar

Instructions:

1. Boil the citrus peels in 2 cups water, kept at a low simmer, for 15 minutes to soften the peels. Drain.

2. Heat a simple syrup mixture (2 cups sugar, 2 cups water) in a medium pan until sugar has dissolved, add peels, and bring to a boil.

3. Turn heat down to maintain a light simmer, and simmer the peels in the simple syrup until liquid has vastly reduced and sugar is starting to settle out of solution, c. 250 F on a candy thermometer. [Alton recommends 1 hour. My mixture took nearly 2 hours. Alton also says to stir every few minutes. I stirred every 15 minutes, ish.]

4. Drain the sugar-saturated peels on a wire rack, cool, and chop before using in recipes.

(And if you’re smart, save the simple syrup mixture. It’s great for mixed drinks!)