candied orange and grapefruit peels

this christmas, i made candied orange and grapefruit peels, from a colonial williamsburg recipe.  these candied peels are delicious and so very easy to make.  they look lovely in a glass compote or on a cookie tray.

to begin, decide which citrus fruit to use for your candy.  lemon, orange and grapefruit peels work nicely.  thoroughly wash the fruit and quarter them lengthwise.  remove the white pulp from the peel.  cut the peel into 1/4 inch wide strips, about 3 inches long.

mix 1 cup of sugar with 1/2 cup of water.  bring to a boil, and then add the peels.  cool them very slowly until the peels almost look clear in color.  i used a candy thermometer, and brought the boil to 230 degrees.  the trick to this recipe is not to boil too quickly, or the sugar darkens and caramelizes.

when the boil reached 230 degrees, i took the peels out with a fork and placed them flat to dry.  when the peels are dry, roll in extra sugar and store them in a sealed container.  this recipe makes 1/4 pound.

i used 1 grapefruit and 2 large oranges and boiled them until almost all the liquid was absorbed at temperature.  these were delicious and better than expected.  this has become one of my very favorite recipes.