Candied Grapefruit Peel

So the other morning I ate a lovely pink grapefruit for breakfast. This was prompted after seeing Black Swan, a beautiful yet suspenseful film starring Natalie Portman. Portman's character Nina is a ballet dancer and very concerned as such with her physique. For breakfast, she eats a poached egg and half a grapefruit commenting on how pink and pretty it is. Luckily my grapefruit was just as pink and also wonderfully sweet.

I couldn't help but feel sad as I finished up my fruit, sadly wishing that there was more lovely grapefruit essence that I could enjoy when it dawned on my that i knew how to candy citrus peel.

So I set out scooping out the remaining flesh and membrane, leaving just the outer rind and pith. I cut the rind into thick matchstick strips, just enough for a bite. I ended up with about a cup of strips.

The process of candying rinds like this is rather long, but definitely worth it.

1. In a heavy sauce pan, place rind strips and cool water. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water.

2. Repeat this process two more times.

3. For the final boiling, make a simple syrup of one part water to one part granulated sugar that is equal to the amount of citrus strips you have. I had about one cup of grapefruit rind, so I used one cup each of water and sugar.

4. Bring to a simmer and let boil until all of the syrup is absorbed-- this may take up to and hour or more.

5. Set up a station of a cooling rack placed over a sheet pan, two forks, and a shallow dish with sugar.

6. Remove the strips from the pan and drain excess syrup. Dredge a few strips at a time in the sugar. Allow to air dry on the rack and the sugar will form a crust around the rind.

The resulting strip will have a texture similar to a very firm gummy candy. This same method can be used with lemons, limes, and is fantastic with oranges and when dipped in chocolate.

Make sure to let the strips dry completely uncovered. You want the sugar to crystallize and create a protective layer of sweetness. I usually store these in an air tight container in the cupboard, and if they aren't dried, they tend to sweat and soak up the sugar becoming sticky. If this happens, I add a tablespoon or so of sugar and shake them around to coat them again.