Recipe – Candied Grapefruit

Originally appeared in the January 20, 2008 Happy Child CSA newsletter.

Based off this Candied Grapefruit Strip recipe from Epicurious.

This simple recipe can be prepared well under an hour. As we continue to move into citrus season, consider trying it out with oranges, tangerines, or other heavy-skinned fragrant citrus. If substituting, based on average sizing, two oranges or three tangerines or lemons may be used in the place of the grapefruit.

[print_this]

Candied Grapefruit

• 1 large grapefruit
• 2/3 c water
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1 T light corn syrup*

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the grapefruit zest in long pieces. Remove all excess white pith from the pieces with a sharp knife and slice the pieces of zest into thin, julienne strips. 

Place strips in a medium saucepan and fill halfway with cold water. Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes and drain. Repeat with fresh water if desired to further remove any bitterness. Set aside. In a small heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water and corn syrup. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Add the strips of zest and simmer over low heat until they are transparent and the syrup is thickened (15-20min).

Candied Orange Peel by Flickr user Veganbaking.net.

Remove from heat and cool for 3-4 minutes before removing the strips from the syrup and allowing to fully cool on a wire rack. Toss in sugar if desired.

If covered and chilled, the strips will keep for up to 2 weeks.

*If you are not a fan of corn syrup or have a food allergy, consider substituting honey, cane syrup, agave syrup, or making a thicker version of a simple sugar syrup on your own by altering the sugar to water ratio above
[/print_this]

Photo credit: The tasty looking candied orange strips in this post were photographed by veganbaking.net and Mokeneco. Both images are licensed Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike.