Candied Grapefruit
Making your own candied fruit is so easy and absolutely addicting. I make a huge batch and end up eating half of it right off of the drying rack. I love the the color and taste of the candied grapefruit, but you can use the same technique to make candied orange, lemon, lime or any other citrus fruit.
Ingredients
- 2 small grapefruits, washed or 3 oranges, lemons or limes
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar plus more for coating the candied fruit
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice or 1 tablespoon corn syrup this prevents the sugar from crystallizing as you cook the fruit in the syrup
Instructions
- Pick beautifully colored fruit and wash it well! Cut off the skin of the fruit, then cut it into strips and remove some of the bitter pith. Don’t go crazy, it won’t matter that much in the end and you don’t want the candy to be too thin.
- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the peels. Boil for 5 minutes and strain. Refill the pot with fresh water and bring it to a boil again. Add the peels and boil for another 5 minutes, strain and repeat this 2 more times for a total of 4 pots of boiling fresh water. This process of blanching the peels removes the bitter flavor and is essential to the success of your efforts.
- Cook on medium low heat until all of the peels are translucent, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Drain the citrus peels on a wire rack, with a piece of parchment or cookie sheet under it, to catch the drips. Let sit several hours (overnight) to air-dry.
- Toss the candied peels in sugar! They will last at room temperature for a couple of weeks.