Preserved Orange and Lemon Peel

I am very fortunate in that I have quite an eclectic mixture of books with lots of recipes and/or projects to have a go at and I like trying new things out.  Mind you most of my projects usually have to do with food one way or another. I also love reading my books and am always researching recipes playing with them and then sometimes adding my own twist on them.  This recipe I found yesterday and it would appear so simple which is what attracted me to it.  I was going to wait until the first batch was completed (this is very much a work in progress recipe as you add the peel when it is available with a layer of sugar) however after poking my nose in after one night the aroma is wonderful and the sugar is turning to a syrup that I have decided to post the recipe here together with a follow up recipe for a Tea Bread which is also in this delightful little book.  I must say all the National Trust Cookery books I have are well worth their weight in gold.

This particular recipe is taken from the National Trust book of Fruit and Vegetable Cookery by Simone Sekers ISBN 0-7078-0131-1 which is my kind of recipe as it only requires a little preparation and then can be left to itself apart from regular shaking inbetween times.  It stipulates that it is very good for cakes and puddings.

I am always seeking out those special recipes for use in my pantry and for goodies for the Christmas pantry.  Peel is something that gets chucked away and we end up buying it for our cakes and tea breads so why not make it yourself.

Scrub Oranges and Lemons grapefruits and lime and then peel off with a sharp knife as much as the pith as is possible. You will end up with a pile of pith and membrane.  I then let the peel soak in boiling water and then drain them.  I then sliced the peel into thinnish strips and then chopped into squares and then layered the peels in a preserving jar with a good layer of sugar between each layer (you can add to the jar with alternating layers of sugar and peel as you go). Putting a lid on in between. Make sure that the jar is shaken often as this helps the sugar turn to syrup. The peel can then be used in cakes and puddings.

The Chopped Peel

After it has been dried with kitchen paper

The First layer of sugar in the bottom of the jar

More sugar piled on top and after the first shaking the peel is well covered

Everytime you pass it by give it a good shaking which should help

create a syrup in which the peel is stored

After one night the sugar is starting to develop into a thick syrup

I wish you could smell the aroma from the jar it is delightful

I think this is going to be a very good way of making your own preserved mixed peel, which although covered and preserved in sugar is not hard like  normal mixed peel and from the smell of the jar is probably going to have  far more flavour than any commercial product, and from what I have read this preserve can be used in replacement of any recipe that has mixed peel in it.  I can als see a use for the syrup in fruit salads and dribbled over pancakes etc. Will post a follow up in a few weeks.

This is a good recipe to make when processing the mixed fruits for varous types of jam and or curd where there is the peel left over.  Its good to use it up as it doesn't rot down well in a compost heap and this is one answer to another problem.