Citrus Confit

At the end of my citrus phase, I had some leftover orange and grapefruit peels, so I made some citrus confit. If you eat a lot of citrus, next time you might want to save the peels you were going to throw away/compost and make some too (it’s incredibly easy!). The semi-candied peels make great toppings for ice cream or yogurt, especially with honey, and the sauce can be mixed into lemonade instead of sugar. They’re also great on their own, though I find them a little strong for my taste. Oh, and I wouldn’t use grapefruit again.

The following is what I would call a recipe, though you might not call it that due to its lack of numbers. I try to not measure ingredients as much as possible, preferring to judge by sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound, in that order. This way, I have a better understanding of the basic principles of cooking, and I can more easily fix each dish the moment I notice something is amiss, whereas if I blindly follow the numbers on a recipe I might not notice anything is wrong until the dish is already on the table and it’s too late to fix anything. Anyway, the recipe:

1. Cut peels into preferred shape and size. Whole peels work, but are harder to manage, while minced peels will yield purée. I prefer finger-sized slices.
2. Blanch peels two or three times, using fresh water each time. Each time involves bringing peels and enough water to cover peels to a boil, simmering for three to five minutes, then pouring out the water. Avoid over-stirring peels to prevent them from breaking into tiny pieces. Similarly, blanch only until the peels lose their bitterness and no more so that the peels don’t become too soft and disintegrate.
3. After blanching, add enough water to cover peels, plus a little more to be boiled off. Measure out  as much sugar as water in volume, but do not add to water yet (e.g. if you added 1 cup of water, then measure out 1 cup sugar and set aside).
4. Fish peels out of water and set aside.
5. Add sugar to water in saucepan. For every two cups of water, add one or two tablespoons of corn syrup. Those who wish to avoid consuming corn syrup may add less if desired, but to be conservative and ensure the prevention of crystallization, you may add more without harm.
6. Bring sugar mixture to boil, then add peels.
7. Simmer uncovered for about an hour, or until peels are translucent.
8. Storage: Let mixture cool, then store peels and syrup together in an air-tight non-reactive container (like a glass or plastic jar) in the refrigerator. If not often opened, this will keep for a week or two, and maybe longer. When in doubt, boil mixture again.

Update: When I said I wouldn’t try this again using grapefruit, I actually meant pomelo. Grapefruit would probably be great.

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