Nov 16, 2008
I made this recipe for my mother. And then found out these (formerly) creepy things were no relation to the awful peel found in fruitcake, a pleasant surprise - they really have a fresh fruity flavor, no bitterness at all. I washed fruit before cutting up. Then boiled about 15 minutes, changed water and repeated twice. I used 3 oranges, 1 grapefruit, 2 lemons and (after listening to my brother) 2 limes. The limes were quite difficult to get the pulp out since they were tiny and firm, pieces were much smaller than others. I think I would look for softer fruit if I decided to use lime again. But they added nice color to the mix, even though they lost their bright green color, they still were pretty. Because I used more fruit, I increased syrup recipe by 50%, could've gone to twice the recipe as it barely covered the peels. My brother said Grandma used a plate to keep peel submerged, but I didn't trust a plate in boiling syrup, so just pressed occasionally with slotted spoon. I also threw in a good handful of dried cranberries, they turned out beautiful. Now I have a ton of candied fruit drying on my table, it made a cookie sheet full about 1/2 - 3/4" deep (will separate later for better drying). It was very labor intensive, but did part Saturday and finished Sunday. All in all, a very successful adventure.
—Christine
