Candied Citrus Peel

• First, wash the outside of the citrus well as this recipe only calls for using the skin. Peel the citrus with a veggie peeler or sharp knife so you have vertical strips of peel without much pith (some is okay). Slice into thin long strips. (Save the remaining fruit for other uses.)
• How many of the fruits to peel depends upon your fruit and their size. Plan on around 2-3 oranges, 3 blood oranges, perhaps 2-3 lemons, 5-6 limes, 4-6 tangerines and 1-2 grapefruit.

Removing bitterness

• We want to boil away bitterness by adding 2C cold water to a pan, the citrus peels, and bring to a boil for ~5min. Drain and let the peels cool on a cooling rack. Taste a bit of the peel to see how bitter it still is and if you need to boil again. If yes, start with fresh cold water and repeat the process.
• If using Grapefruit I have seen recipes that call for 5 boils

  Orange and Lemon just needs one boiling generally

  Lime needed two

Infused Sugar

• Boil 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar (the ratio 1:1 is used so if you modify the recipe you know what to do), whisking to make sure the sugar is fully incorporated. Then turn the heat down to a simmer and add all the peels to the pot. Continue cooking without a lid as you want the sugar water to reduce a bit. After ~5min you should have a syrupy liquid and the peels should be ready. Pick one out and taste carefully, it is hot, to see if it tastes good to you.
• After you make the candied peels the cooled syrup can now be poured into a lidded glass container and used in other things as it is now a citrus infused simple syrup.

Candied peels

• Remove the slices from the liquid and place on a drying rack over a parchment lined baking sheet to cool off and drip excess liquid. Once cool to touch, but still sticky, place into a bowl filled with the extra 1/2C sugar. Roll peels in the sugar, shaking off excess, and place back on the drying rack to dry completely.
• Once all the peels are out of the syrup add 1/2C water to the pan and whisk it till incorporated. Then set pan off the heat to cool naturally.
• Once peels are dry, place in a lidded container in the fridge.