How To Make Candied Lemon Peel

Candied lemon peel is deliciously tangy, sweet and chewy. Use it in fruit bread, hot cross buns, decorating cakes and more!

Often when using lemons, you might just the juice and maybe a little bit of the lemon zest. Candied peel is the best way to use the entire lemon. It makes a delicious addition to baked goods and a sweet edible gift.

It’s super easy to make too. You simple need lemons, sugar and water.

This recipe is for candied lemon peel, but you can make candied orange peel, grapefruit peel, lime peels, and any other citrus fruit too! So, if you’ve got lemon peel left over after making lemon curd, here’s a great recipe.

Ingredients

Here is a rundown of what you will need. Find the actual ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Organic lemons. Since we are using all the lemon skin, you’ll want to use lemons that are chemical-free. Some large lemons have very thick skins while some varieties have thinner skinned fruit. If you are using a citrus like a grapefruit, these often have very thick skin too. The type of citrus peel and thickness will determine how to prepare them.
• Granulated sugar. For the sugar syrup, and also for coating the peel at the end.
• Water

Preparing the lemons

When preparing the lemons, first you’ll need to think about what type of candied peel you would like. Traditionally, candied peel uses both the colored outer skin and the white part. This is the pith. The pith brings bitterness to the peel and this brings a great flavor contrast.

The thin strips of peel will get simmered in water first before being simmered in sugar syrup. This will lessen the bitter flavor.

For this type of candied lemon peel, you’ll need to remove the juicy part of the lemon, but leave most, if not all, the pith. Cut the lemon into quarters, then peel the skin off the lemon segments. Freeze the lemon segments for future drinks!

Use a sharp knife to thinly slice away the fibres that are near the pith. Now slice the peel into 1/4 inch wide strips.

If your lemon or citrus has a very thick skin, with a lot of pith, you can slice some of this away too.

Option – If you would rather have a very thin candied lemon peel with next to no bitter taste, you can use a vegetable peeler to thinly shave off yellow lemon strips.

Simmering the lemons

Place the sliced lemon rind into a small saucepan or medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then turn the heat to medium and keep the lemon peel boiling for around 10 minutes. Drain the peel.

The simple syrup

In the same medium saucepan, combine fresh water and sugar over low-medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the lemon peel to the sugar water. Bring it to a simmer and let it simmer on low heat for around one hour, stirring every 10 or so minutes. Thin peels will take less time.

The peel is ready when it is soft and translucent. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a board or baking sheet.

Drain the candied citrus peel by pouring it through a sieve, or using a slotted spoon to remove them. You can keep the leftover citrus syrup for cocktails and drinks if you like. It makes a thick syrup that tastes like marmalade.

When the peels aren’t too hot to touch, lay them in a single layer on the parchment paper. Let them dry for around 2 hours until cooled and tacky to the touch.

Coating in sugar

Add a layer of granulated sugar to a container, then scoop over half the candied peel. It’s fine that it sticks together. Sprinkle over some more sugar, then add in the rest of the peel. Sprinkle over more sugar. Seal the container up tight, then shake the container until all the peel is covered with sugar and they no longer stick together.

Storing

Store the finished peel in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 months.

Ways to use candied lemon peel

• Use it to garnish a drink or cocktail.
• Add it to a cake or cupcake for decoration.
• Use it in holiday baking, like a german stollen or panatonne.
• Chop it up into small pieces and use in hot cross buns.
• Stir chopped peel through cake or muffin batter.
• Dip half of each strip in some melted chocolate for a sweet treat.
• You can even use it in savory dishes like lamb tagine.