Blanching: place citrus cups in a pot and cover with cold water (just enough to cover peel) and bring to a boil, strain water well and start process over again with cold water. Meyer lemon: blanch 3 times total and simmer on the 3rd until knife tender Valencia/navel oranges,mandarins, and tangerines: blanch 3 times total and simmer on the 3rd until knife tender Grapefruit and blood oranges: blanch 4 times total and simmer on the 4th until knife tender
On the last blanch, bring to a boil, but do not strain the water, reduce the heat to simmer and continue to cook the cups until knife tender. Once knife tender, strain well and let cool.
Once cool, scoop the inner pith with a spoon and remove the membrane inside where the stem attaches to outside.
Do not remove too much of the pith. The pith is what allows the candy peels to have a nice soft texture.
Cut peel into nice long strips.
Simple syrup is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. For the batch here I used 6 cups of sugar (total) and 3 cups of water.
For this batch I used 6 cups of sugar (total) and 3 cups of water.
put this all into the pot,
stir, and heat making sure that the sugar is completely dissolved.
You should make enough syrup so that the peel strips will be covered in the pot and can float around somewhat freely. If the pot is overcrowded, the peels will candy unevenly—in this case it is better to get a second pot.
Once the sugar is dissolved, add peel.
Bring the syrup to a simmer and DO NOT STIR—stirring may cause the sugar syrup to crystallize.
the peel should stay at a simmer, do not let boil too rapidly.
Cook until just translucent.
When the peel is nearly done, the syrup bubbles will be quite small...
and will eventually cover the surface in “champagne bubbles”. Once this happens they should be done-- check for translucency and taste to see if peel is fully candied. Be sure not to overcook Meyer lemon, it caramelizes easily.
Once peels are translucent, you can lay them out to dry on cooling rack that has been placed on a cookie sheet covered in parchment or wax paper.
Using a slotted spoon, lift peels out of the syrup letting as much syrup drain off as you can and spread them on the cooling rack –
try to spread them out evenly in a single layer so they will dry evenly
Dry peels overnight or until they feel slightly tacky to the touch. Coat them in granulated sugar (sifting off the excess) and serve. They can also be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one year. Enjoy!
the leftover syrup can also be saved and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Use to sweeten lemonade, cocktails, whatever...
