Citrus Peel

Hello Everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had at least a little bit of a special day. I had some good homemade food delivered to me which I am always very thankful for because this week was the annual Fruitcake Frenzy. Yes, I bake fruitcakes for Christmas presents to a select group. Fruitcake has a horrible reputation, but I have to say myself that the ones I make defy that generalization. They are not for everyone because the cakes are heavy or dense – and if you don’t really like it, there is a slim chance that you will receive another. They also have a lot of alcohol and nuts, which may not be very appealing. I bake them Thanksgiving week because, the traditional 4-week aging is followed. I use sherry not brandy, perhaps another reason why they defy the fruitcake stereotype. My favorite way to eat a slice is toasted or I have heard that under a broiler is very good.

The namesake fruit in the fruitcakes I make as well – when I first started this endeavor many years ago, I did buy what was available in the store, but I needed so much that I thought it would be worth experimenting to make it from scratch. And amazingly, I was correct. This month I would like to share some photos of my process. First, we start with the citrus fruit:

I work with oranges, grapefruits, and pomelos. Pomelos originated from grapefruit and are a touch sweeter so easier to eat. I have tried lemons, but they are incredibly difficult to peel. I find USA- grown, organic oranges and grapefruits rather easily – I have never found an organic pomelo, but these were grown domestically which makes me feel better from an environmental perspective. For eight fruitcakes, I decided to candy the peel from 14 oranges, 8 grapefruits, and 3 pomelos. This was also the maximum capacity of the soup pot.

The oranges were Valencia, which are primarily used for juice. They were a bit overripe because only Navel oranges are currently in season – I wanted to try the Valencias for something different. The Valencia oranges were actually very easy to peel this year, maybe because they were overripe.

The grapefruits and pomelos have always been easy to peel and you get more for your efforts. The only downside is that the peels have significantly more pith, the white substance between the peel and fruit, that gives a bitter flavor.

Here is the final peel tally from all the fruit:

Now, I cut these into finer strips and remove as much pith as I can with a shaving motion. Peels are tough so I use my sharpest knife, and probably need to get it sharpened after this week. The strips go into the soup pot and the pith leaves a waxy substance on your hands, but it is easy to remove with washing.

Next the strips get boiled so they are softer and edible. They are boiled a total of four times. The first three times it is with plain, cold water and they do tend to float so I try to mix them a bit but I don’t get too worried about it. This part actually goes pretty fast. The fourth time, I make a syrup. Basically, filling the soup pot with the amount of water you need to cover the peels and add a bag of sugar. I wait for this to boil which takes some time and then add the peels to simmer for an hour. 

As you can see, the peels start to change by becoming more translucent and softer. After the hour, they are removed to drying racks.

They dry like this overnight before I chop them up yet again for the fruitcakes. But other uses include just rolling them in sugar or dipping them in chocolate sounds pretty good.

Removing the pith is the most time consuming and requires quite a bit of hand strength. Every year I ask myself why do I do all this work? But when the first fruitcakes bake and are tasted, the value does become apparent. Another benefit is that your home smells incredible with all of the boiling. You do use only one pot, but I need a mild steel wool to clean it up from all the citrus residue.

Now that Fruitcake Frenzy is over, other holiday and seasonal preparations commence. A lot of cleaning and attempts at organization will be the priorities in the next month with hopefully some treats of free time to sew masks and pick kale. Please please let me know at planetnicecrafts@gmail.com if you or someone you may know would like a Planet Nice Crafts care package this winter season. This year has been especially rough in many ways for so many people. Prices range from $0 to $100, postage and gift wrap included. The main ingredient of each care package is a Planet Nice Crafts project surrounded by other available treats, we can communicate customization. Yes that is right, there is no cost for a package going to or coming from someone who is stretched this season and needs a boost.

Be safe and well!