Mixed Peel and other things to do with citrus

Mixed peel is another ingredient in a lot of my family’s traditional recipes that is hard to find in the US.   I make a batch of fresh mixed peel for the holiday season and gift little jars to friends who bake with them.  The jar above went to my friend who grew up in Scotland when we made mince pies. 

I view making mixed peel as one of the things I do that most exemplifies domestic medicine. When I go at this process the way my mom or grandma would have, it illustrates the frugality people used to approach expensive ingredients like citrus fruit.

I know this seems like a lot of work, but at the end of it all, you will have enough mixed peel to gift all your friends, a couple bottles of homemade sour mix, a lovely liqueur, and probably some syrup left over for making cough syrup.

4 lemons
4 oranges
1 grapefruit
1 lime (optional)
1325 grams sugar

Day One

1. Cut your fruit in half and juice it. (Save the juice!)
2. Slice the peel into segments and carefully remove about half the pith with a sharp knife or a peeler. Cut this into small strips or squares. You want them to be about 1/4 inch thick.
3. Now you are going to boil enough water to cover the citrus in a 2.5 qt saucepan. Dump the peel into the boiling water and let it blanch for about five minutes.
4. Strain this and discard this liquid. It’s just an extra step to ensure that you are cleaning off any waxes that might be on the peel, and it cuts a little bit off the bitterness.
5. Fill that same saucepan two-thirds with cold water and add all the chopped peel. Bring this to a low simmer and simmer for an hour. It should be a beautiful orange color like the picture below. Strain this liquid off but KEEP it.
6. Measure 1100 mL of the cooking liquid back into the saucepan.
7. Add 900 grams of sugar.  Stir the sugar in and cook until it is dissolved.
8. Dump the peel back in and let it set for 24 hours.

Use the leftover liquid as part of the liquid to make a simple syrup, and then add the juice you have reserved. Think of it as preserving the juice with simple syrup. I store this in the refrigerator, and I don’t really know how long it will last.   We usually go through it quickly around here. The boys mix it with sparkling water to make fizzy soda. It makes an extra special sour mix for entertaining.

DAY TWO:

1. Strain the peels that have macerated for 24 hours, saving that syrupy liquid.
2. Measure 1000 mL of that cooking liquid into the same saucepan and add 425 grams more sugar.   
3. Cook this over low heat stirring until the sugar dissolves.
4. Dump the fruit back in, and let it sit for another 24 hours.
5. Save the remaining syrup.
   

DAY THREE:

1. Strain the peel, place it on dehydrator fruit leather trays and dust it lightly with caster sugar. I don’t run the dehydrator.  I only put it on the trays and place it in the dehydrator so I can cover the peel while it dries.  I hate dust. You could run it on low, but I rarely do unless I am truly in a hurry.  You lose some aromatics that way. 
2. After 3-7 days, the peels will be dry enough to scoop up and put in an airtight jar like the picture at the top of the page.

With all leftover syrup you can make another simple syrup by simmering it until it reaches thread stage. This has a little more bitter to it and its excellent for mixing with apple brandy to make a liqueur. It is also nice to have it around as a base for cough syrups.