CITRUS SKIN RECIPES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21640, 4 November 1933, Page 7 (Supplement)

CITRUS SKIN RECIPES

CANDIED PEEL Candied peel is easy to do and extremely useful in the kitchen. But don't keep it for cakes alone. Add a strip to stewing-fruits that are inclined to be uninteresting, such as prunes, rhubarb, and so on; and occasionally add a little piece, finely chopped, to a plain milk pudding for a different flavour. These directions apply equally to orange, lemon, mandarin, or citron peel. "A mixture is ideal for cakes. Choose large fruit that is not too ripe. Over-ripe fruit is usually thin-skinned, and the thick, fresh skins make the best candied peel. First method: Cut the peel into any desired shape (pith and all) and steep it for four of five days in a brine made ■with Alb. salt to three quarts of water. Then "remove from the brine, and soak for another full day in fresh water. Now drain, and cover again -with fresh water. Bring to the boil, and boil slowly till tender. If you attempt to add the sugar before this preliminary cooking, the peel will be hard and tough. >ext pour off the hot water, and. cover with a hot syrup made in the proportion of 21b. of sugar to two quarts water. Boil for about one hour, or until the peel looks clear, and then let. it stand overnight. Next morning take out the peel, add another pound of sugar to the syrup (that is, a pound vo the above quantities), and bring to the boil again. Skim off any impurities, put in the peel and continue hoiling slowly until the sugar crystallises round the peel, keeping it gently moving all the time. Then remove the peel, and dry it in the sunshine or near a warm fire. Store in air-tight jars or tins. Second method: This method is slightly different, and gives a different appearance to the finished peel. Cover the peel with salted water as beforo and allow it to steep for one week. Then put it in fresh, clear water, and boil slowly until peel is tender (one to two hours). Drain the peel, and rover with syrup in place of the water, using lib. sugar to naif a pint water, and boiling it for five minutes beforo pouring over the peel. Again allow to stand lor onß week, and then place peel and syrup in the pan and boil slowly for half an hour. Drain the peel and dry in a warm place or in tho sunshine^

Grated Peel.—The busy woman will like this method, whereby the rind and its flavour is so simply preserved. Grate the rind only (not tbo white pith), and place it in a screw-top jar or corked bottle. Sprinkle thickly with sugar. Continue filling the jar in this manner whenever f there is an orange to spare, and when it is full, cover, or cork securely. Use as required to flavour cakes and puddings.