Unbeatable Home-Made Candied Peel

Instructions

1. 1

   sugar Remove peel from fruit. Scrape soft pulp from inside of peels. Place peel in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a hard boil. Drain. Repeat two more times with fresh water. This removes the bitter quinine taste from the peel. Drain, cool on racks. Chop peel into strips or cubes suitable for specific use. Place peel in large saucepan. Add 2 to 3 cups sugar to peel and stir well. Cover and set aside for two days. Taste. Stir in up to 1 cup additional sugar if necessary to reach desired sweetness. Ladle into containers, cover and store in refrigerator. Will keep up to 6 months or can be frozen. Along with popcorn “snow”, I like to make gingerbread “snowmen” to decorate the Christmas tree. One year, friends with a three year old son were visiting us. A week before Christmas I noticed many of the little brown men on the lower branches had lost their feet. A couple of days later they had lost various arms and legs. By the time Christmas morning rolled around, many had been reduced to dangling heads on strings. Kyle had been surreptiously nibbling on them every time he passed the tree.