Candied Pomelo Peel

the thick-cut confection the fruit's proportions make possible: rind and pith boiled through many changes of water, simmered slowly in syrup until translucent, then dried and rolled in sugar

Origin: Guangdong, China

From the journey of Pomelo.

Candied citrus peel exists everywhere citrus grows, but the pomelo makes a different and better version of it, and the reason is simply proportion. An orange or lemon yields a thin strip of rind that candies into something closer to a garnish; a pomelo's rind and pith together can be three centimetres deep, so the same process yields thick, chewy, translucent blocks that eat as a confection in their own right rather than as a decoration for something else. The method is the same one that underlies braised pomelo peel and is worth understanding as a single technique with two destinations. Bitterness lives in the pith and is water-soluble, so repeated boiling and draining removes it; what remains is a porous, neutral sponge with an extraordinary capacity to absorb. Where the Cantonese braise fills that sponge with stock and dried flounder, candying fills it with sugar syrup, and the slow, gradual absorption is what turns the pith from opaque white to glassy translucence. The process must be gradual. Plunging blanched peel into a heavy syrup draws water out faster than sugar goes in, and the pieces shrivel and toughen. Starting in a light syrup and concentrating it over hours, or over successive days, lets the two exchange slowly and keeps the peel plump. This is the same principle behind every candied fruit, from marrons glacés to glacé cherries.

Ingredients

Peel

  • 2 whole pomelo, the rind and pith only
  • 1 tbsp fine salt, for the first soak

Syrup

  • 800 g granulated sugar
  • 600 ml water
  • 2 tbsp glucose syrup or honey (optional, prevents crystallising)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

To finish

  • 150 g caster sugar, for rolling

Method

  1. Score the pomelo rind into quarters and pull it away from the flesh in sheets. Pare off the thin outer coloured layer with a peeler and cut the remaining rind and pith into strips about 1.5 cm wide.
  2. Soak the strips in cold salted water for an hour, then drain and rinse.
  3. Cover with fresh cold water, bring to the boil, simmer 10 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water. Repeat this three or four more times until a taste confirms no bitterness remains.
  4. Bring the sugar, water, glucose syrup, and lemon juice to a simmer, stirring until dissolved. Add the drained peel and simmer very gently for an hour.
  5. Take off the heat and leave the peel in the syrup overnight at room temperature.
  6. The next day, simmer gently for another hour until the syrup is thick and the peel has turned glassy and translucent all the way through.
  7. Lift the pieces out with a fork, letting the syrup drain, and spread them on a wire rack. Leave to dry for 6 to 24 hours until tacky rather than wet.
  8. Toss the pieces in caster sugar to coat, shake off the excess, and store in an airtight jar.

Notes

Keeps two months in an airtight jar in a cool cupboard, and improves for the first week as the texture evens out. Grapefruit peel works by the same method and needs one fewer blanching, though the pieces are thinner and less impressive. Chopped fine, the candied peel goes into cakes, breads, and ice creams in place of mixed peel, where it is considerably better than the shop-bought kind. Half-dipping the finished pieces in dark chocolate is a European treatment rather than a Chinese one and is very good. The same technique gives Japanese buntan-zuke, cut thicker and rolled more heavily in sugar.

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