Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

candied fruit and peels

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Linda Kauppinen
Greenwood, FL

This is a 14 day long process on how to Candy your own fruits and Peels of all kinds, but its really easy to do. If you do make peel, be sure to boil it for 8 to 10 minutes in fresh water before glazing- 3 times for orange or tangerine peel, 4 times for lemon or grapefruit. This makes it tender. Then gently scrape out the white pith. Otherwise, it is too bitter. Lime peel does not make such a tasty candied peel, and many don't care too much for grapefruit, either.

(1 rating)
yield 14 day prep time
method Stove Top

Ingredients For candied fruit and peels

  • 2 lb
    cherries, stemmed and pitted (or other pitted fruit such as figs or apricots, or pre-boiled peel)
  • 3/4 c
    water to cover
  • GLACEE INGREDIENTS
  • 1 1/2 c
    water
  • 3/4 c
    sugar
  • appropriate food coloring if desired

How To Make candied fruit and peels

  • 1
    Put the washed and stoned cherries into a saucepan (I am using cherries for illustration sake, but you would do the same with each fruit type or peel), cover them with water, bring to the boil and cook them for 4 minutes. Strain the cherries, keeping the liquid in a saucepan. Spread the cherries into a deep dish (just enough space for syrup between each cherry, and syrup covers the fruit when you pour it back on).
  • 2
    stir together: 1 1/2 c water and 3/4 c sugar. Heat slowly until the sugar dissolves, then add the food coloring, bring the syrup to the boil and pour it over the cherries. Leave them in the syrup for 24 hours at room temperature. If the syrup does not cover, make more; the fruit MUST be covered.
  • 3
    Days 2-6 The next day strain the cherries again, put the syrup in a saucepan. Stir 1/4 c sugar into the syrup and bring to the boil. Pour the syrup over the cherries again and leave them in the syrup for 24 hours. Repeat this process for another 4 days. {yes, you add sugar to the syrup each day} No task on day 7.
  • 4
    On the 8th day, drain the cherries, add 1/4 c sugarto the syrup and bring to the boil. Add the cherries to the syrup and cook them over low heat for 3-4 minutes, then pour them into the deep dish and leave them undisturbed for 48 hours. No task on day 9.
  • 5
    On the 10th day, repeat the process of the 8th day and leave the cherries to soak in the syrup for another 4 days.
  • 6
    On the 14th day, drain the cherries and place them on a rack to dry. The cherries can be stored for at least six months covered in the refrigerator. Enjoy!!
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