Comments on: candied grapefruit peels

By: Acme

Acme — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:18:40 +0000

I just discovered your website and I’m in the process of catching up…as for the simple syrup used in this recipe, don’t throw it out, use it in teas and other sweets. Well, at least with to simple syrup used for orange peels. I’ve tried making the candied grapefruit peels but have had little success. It just comes out way too bitter; I’m planning on using the tips offered by others on your site for a better tasting candy. Love this site!

By: Martyna

Martyna — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:07:27 +0000

I made these last night according to larochelle’s recipe, more or less (my citrus peels were already sliced&a bit dry when I set out to make them, so I had to keep them in plain hot water for longer to soften up&remove the pith). The lemon & orange peels are great, the grapefruit… are good. Maybe my slices were still too thick, or my grapefruits were the more pesticide-y kind. Anyway, they’re quite good up to the moment when you swallow, and then they leave this bitter feeling at the back of your throat.

Good God, I’ll shut up now. So much cooking TMI! But maybe it will help somebody, somewhere :P

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:48:53 +0000

Man, never realized it, but it is awesome living in South Texas. The grapefruits are amazing and the Fredricksburg peaches? Superb.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:09:39 +0000

I was just going to leave a comment similar to the one above me, let by Zanna.. I had to make some candied lemon slices for a cake, so obviously I couldn’t remove the pith. I put the slices in a pot, covered with water, brought to a boil, drained, and repeated five times. Afterward, I simmered them in equal parts sugar and water for about 40 minutes, cooled them on a rack, then tossed in sugar and let dry overnight. There was the tiniest trace of bitterness left, but not enough to matter.

By: Zanna

Zanna — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:07:42 +0000

I JUST made some and I’ve fallen in love with myself. IT’S THAT GOOD. Oh, dont’ take the pith off! You have to boil them at least 3 or 4 times for 5 minutes, and drain the water each time and start over because the water will retain bitterness. You boile them until they are translucent and let them cool in the refrigerator overnight.

Then, for every cup of water you use to you use .5 cup of sugar. I needed 8 cups to cover my rinds last night and I used 4 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil and then SIMMER slowly for 3 hours until you see the rinds basically sitting in a syrup. Let them cool in the friig over night. Then, roll each in some granulated sugar and put them on a rack to dry over night. DELICIOUS.

By: LucyLu

LucyLu — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:56:41 +0000

I am from a jewish middle eastern family and the way we candy grapefruit peels makes them one of the most labourious recipes i have ever heard of! Because of this they are highly prized as gifts:

You first get all your (relatively largely sliced) grapefruit peels and boil them up, then leave them to soak in cold water for at least a day. Every hour or so, or at least ten times within the day, you need to change the soaking water. With every change of soaking water you need to completely ring out the peels. Once you have finished this stage of the process you need to get a rolling pin and roll it out over the grapefruit peels – this causes them to curl up on themselves and make pretty spirals. You then boil them in dessert syrup – or in arabic ‘Shira’ – which has rose water in it.

This is the correct way to candy grapefruit peels, with no bitterness!

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:37:56 +0000

I’ve used the candied grapefruit method from The Glass Pantry by Georgeanne Brennan for several years. She doesn’t suggest removing the pith or boiling the peels multiple times. They’re boiled once in water, then cooked again in syrup. They then sit for 6-7 hours at room temperature and are returned to low heat until they absorb all the syrup, about 30 minutes. I was going to try Use Real Butter’s method for candied orange peels to do grapefruit this year, but after reading about your troubles, I’m going to stick with the lengthy, but reliable method. Mine are in the “sitting room temp syrup” stage and I cannot wait ’til they’re done!

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:33:50 +0000

you also want to boil them about 5 times , with draining the water about ever 10 min’s, i didn’t have to get rid of my white part on them and they ended up tasting fine. I also did 5 cup of sugar to my 2 cups of water. that might have help to. try them again they are worth the time !

By: Nomad

Nomad — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 07:12:04 +0000

Ooh! The shape! What worked best was to cut the strips of peel into diamonds then trim the sides just a bit to make them uniform. Great look, especially dipped in chocolate and they’re lovely as decorations for cakes, cupcakes, and petit fours, too.

By: Nomad

Nomad — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:18:09 +0000

I just made them. I only changed the water twice before the final boil with water. But I don’t it’s necessary to change the water more than once. The texture was a little too soft after so much boiling and not necessary with the pith removed. Oh! I reduced the sugar to two cups. Without the pith, more seemed unnecessary.

But for this slightly over-done texture, they’re delicious!

Other than reducing the boiling time, the next issue would be to correct the shape. Without the pith to provide structure, you’re not going to get the lovely look you have pictured above. The peels are going to be thin, translucent, more wafer-like. In fact, what they most resemble are petals, so next try will be to make slices that can be trimmed to appear more petal-like.

Once dipped in the chocolate, I think they’re going to be quite nice.