Candied Tangerine Peel

pictured left - sapote fruit, and below that, celery root/celeriac at pickup today.

Citrus is abundantly in season right now as evidenced by the weekly inclusion of tangerines and oranges in our CSA box. The fruit and juice are delicious. But don't throw away those peels. You can make wonderful candy from them.

Candied orange peel is probably most common, but I like to candy tangerine and grapefruit peel, too. The technique is the same; and it's so simple. It's a fun thing to do on a rainy afternoon.

Most recipes call for the fruit to be cut into quarters, the flesh removed, and the peel (pith attached) cut into strips. This is a fine way to prepare your fruit. However, I like to peel the fruit by hand, pulling off odd-shaped pieces. I also like to remove some of the pith with a sharp knife. Whatever you decide to do, you can't go wrong.

Candied citrus peel is delicious all by itself. It can chopped and added to fruit salad, yogurt, breakfast cereal, or your favorite muffin recipe. It can be used decoratively on cakes and other baked goods. Dip the candied peel in tempered chocolate and let it harden for an elegant treat.

It takes a day or two for the peel to fully dry. Wait until the peel is dry to dip in chocolate.

Start with about 1-2 C of peel. Place in a medium saucepan. Add water to the pan to cover peels completely and have about an inch of water on top. Bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes. Drain. Rinse well and drain again.

Then bring 3 C of granulated suagr and 3 C of water to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the peel. Return to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until the peel is very soft, about 45 minutes.

Remove pan from the heat. Drain the peel and toss in 1 C granulated sugar until peel is well-coated. Separate any pieces that stick together and place candied peel on a cooling rack set inside (or over) a cookie sheet. The rack allows for air circulation so the peel will dry on all sides. Let stand for 1-2 days until the peel drys.

This weeks harvest included:

From Underwood: celery root, 1 bunch purple kale, 1 bunch golden beets, 1# tangerines, 1 bunch tatsoi, 1 Napa cabbage, 1 bunch spinach, and 1 butter lettuce, 1 Pinkerton avocado

From Rancho Santa Cecilia: 1 Bacon avocado, and 1# sapote fruit.

From Weiser Family Farms: 1# Russian banana potatoes.

From Silver Lake Farms: radish, arugula and mustard microgreens.

Enjoy!

Shelley