You can no longer throw away fresh citrus peels, but make candied fruits out of them, which can be used for baking, preparing drinks, stewing meat, decorating desserts, etc. Read all the secrets and subtleties of their preparation in this review.
Recipe content:
- How to make candied lemon - the subtleties of cooking
- Candied lemon peel
- How to cook candied lemon fruits at home
- Candied lemon at home
- Candied lemon
- Video recipes
Candied citrus fruits are candied fruits of orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, etc. But most often it is the peels of these fruits that are used to make candied fruits. There are several options for preparing such a sweetness. For example, a quick way is to skip the crusts through a meat grinder, sprinkle with sugar, put in layers in a container and refrigerate for three days. Then cook the mixture in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Another way is to soak the peels in cold water for 3-4 days, changing them once a day, and then boil them in sugar syrup until transparent. And that's not all of the ways to prepare candied fruits. You can find more interesting recipes in this review.
How to make candied lemon - the subtleties of cooking
Candied fruits are primarily a dietary substitute for sweets. Despite the concentrated sugar syrup in which they are prepared, candied fruits are considered low-calorie, and, of course, healthy sweets. To make them beautiful and fragrant at home, springy on the inside and soft on the outside, you need to know some subtleties.
- The crusts are thoroughly washed beforehand, a white film is cut off and cut into small pieces. The thinner the pieces are, the better they will soak in the syrup and dry more easily.
- Products are soaked in cold water for at least three days, at least once, and preferably twice a day, changing the water.
- The quality of the candied fruit depends on the consistency of the sugar syrup. For example, a thick and strong syrup will make the fruit too soft, depriving them of their elastic-elastic core, which is very much appreciated in candied fruits. And the liquid syrup prevents the fruits from becoming sugar-free, which does not allow the candied fruits to be stored for a long time.
- Since lemon peels are hard, they are pre-cooked in boiling water. Usually this cycle is repeated 3 times: it is boiled for 15 minutes and kept in syrup for 12 hours.
- Dried candied fruits, putting the pieces on a sieve for 6 hours so that the syrup can drain. Then they are placed on a plank and left for 3-4 days, periodically turning over to dry evenly. You can cook the candied slices in the oven until tender. However, the best candied fruits are obtained, dried in the fresh air with a slight draft.
- Ready candied fruits are sprinkled with vanilla, sugar or powdered sugar.
- Store the pieces in a tightly closed glass jar. This is how they retain their freshness and softness for a long time.
Candied lemon peel
The end of the citrus season is the time to harvest strategic stocks like candied fruits. The whole summer is ahead, when they can be used in a variety of baked goods. Anyway, just drink your morning tea with a bite.
- Caloric content per 100 g - 322 kcal.
- Servings - Any
- Cooking time - 3-4 hours for cooking, plus about a week for drying
Ingredients:
- Lemon skins - 1 part
- Sugar - 1 part
Step by step cooking:
- Wash and peel the lemons so that a small part of the white rind remains on the skin. Too thick white layer will give the candied fruit bitterness, and if you remove only the colored part, then the candied fruit will turn out to be thin.
- Cut the crusts into small cubes or strips.
- Fill the skins with fresh cold water and soak them for 3 days in cold water, while changing the water 3 times a day. (Note: If there is no time to wait 3 days, then fill them with water and boil for 15 minutes. Then drain the water, fill it with fresh and boil again. Repeat the procedure 4 times. After the last 2 cycles, add a pinch of salt to the water, about 0.5 hours.l.).
- Place candied fruits in a pot of cold water, boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour the skins into a saucepan and add sugar in a 1: 1 ratio, i.e. for 500 g of skins, 500 g of sugar.
- Put the saucepan on the fire and stir. The soaked skins will release a lot of juice, and will be cooked in syrup, and after 10 minutes the liquid will evaporate.
- Transfer the candied fruits to a baking sheet. They will dry out in just half an hour, but the middle will remain soft.
- After a week, the candied fruits are completely dry and firm. Therefore, before using in baking, it is better to pour them with boiling water or brandy, like raisins.
How to cook candied lemon fruits at home
A tasty treat can be bought in outdoor stalls. However, they are not cheap and have an acid-bright color. It is much more useful to cook candied lemon fruits at home with your own hands.
Ingredients:
- Lemons - 1 kg
- Sugar - 1 kg
- Water - 500 ml
Step by step cooking:
- Wash the lemon and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut it into thin rings and soak in water for three days. During this time, change the water 5-6 times.
- Transfer the raw materials to boiling water and cook for 15 minutes.
- Then pour into a colander to glass the liquid. But collect the water that remains, it will be useful in the future.
- Make syrup. Pour the sugar with lemon water, which was collected and boil. When the syrup boils, foam will appear. Remove it, and continue to boil the syrup.
- Put lemon slices in hot syrup and cook for 1, 5 hours.
- Leave them to cool completely and bring them to a boil again. Cook for 15 minutes and repeat the step one more time.
- Transfer the finished crusts to a sieve and leave the syrup to drain.
- After 3 hours, put candied fruits in one layer on a baking sheet and dry in a preheated oven to 50 degrees.
- Sprinkle the finished candied fruits with granulated sugar, mix and repeat drying.
- Store sweetness in tightly closed containers.
Candied lemon at home
Candied lemon - a good dessert for tea, salad dressings, marinades for meat, baking, etc. You can cook them both from lemon peels and from whole fruit.
Ingredients:
- Lemon - 4 pcs.
- Sugar - 300 g
- Water - 400 ml
Step by step cooking:
- Wash the lemons with warm water, brush with a stiff brush and soak in cold water for 40 minutes.
- Cut them into cubes, round wedges, or remove only the zest. But do not cut too thin, otherwise the slices will break.
- Place a pot of water on the stove, add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add lemon and stir.
- Simmer for half an hour. Stir and cook for another 20 minutes.
- Chill the slices in syrup.
- Put the cooled pieces in a colander in one layer to drain the syrup and set for 2 hours.
- Transfer them to a tray and set aside overnight. You can also dry them in the oven over low heat at 80 degrees.
- Store sweetness in a jar with a lid.
Candied lemon
Candied lemons are a really healthy and tasty treat that will completely satisfy the desire to eat something sweet. Another easy way to cook candied fruit is to twist the lemon skins in a meat grinder. This will significantly speed up the process of making strategic stocks.
Ingredients:
- Lemon peels - 300 g
- Sugar - 300 g
- Drinking water - 200 ml
Step by step cooking:
- Twist the lemon peels in a meat grinder through a large wire rack.
- Transfer the mass to a container and fill with drinking water. Leave them for 3 days, while changing the water 4-5 times.
- Transfer the raw materials to boiling water and boil for 15 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a colander and let the liquid drain.
- Collect water, it will be useful in the future.
- Pour the sugar with the collected lemon liquid and boil. Skim off any foam that will appear.
- Put lemon peels in hot syrup and cook for 1, 5 hours.
- Leave the crusts to cool in the syrup, then boil again and boil for 15 minutes. Repeat the same procedure again.
- Transfer the crusts to a colander and let the syrup drain.
- After an hour, transfer the mass in an even layer onto a baking sheet and leave to dry naturally for 3-5 days. At the same time, turn them over several times so that the mass solidifies evenly and is not a single lump.
- Sprinkle the finished candied fruit with granulated sugar, put in a glass container and store in tightly closed jars.
Video recipes: