Candied Pomelo Peel

Candied Pomelo Peel

Let’s start with an introduction to the Pomelo. It’s a lesser known member of the citrus family - the largest citrus fruit there is. This taste is somewhat similar to that of the grapefruit, but milder. What I love about it is its texture. It’s somehow dryer than other citrus fruit, which, now that I write that down, sounds like a bad thing, but it’s not. Pomelo is delicious.

The pomelo in all it's glory

The pomelo has a very thick skin.
I’ve often wonder what candied pomelo would be like, and I finally found out. I have to confess, this isn't the healthiest recipe on my blog. It only has two ingredients, but one of them is a truckload of sugar. Consider candied pomelo peel an occasional treat.

Preparation time:

Start to finish:  

Ingredients

Peel of one organic pomelo

1 ½ cups of unrefined cane sugar (approx.)

More sugar for coating

Let’s start!

1.    Peel the pomelo carefully so you don’t get many jagged pieces and save the peel.

2.    Eat the pomelo. (Don’t skip this crucial step!)

3.    Wash the skin thoroughly.

4.    Remove some of the pith.

Pith begone!

     Tip: The recipes I read said to remove some of the bitter pith. I removed a lot from some pieces and very little from others. It didn’t seem to make a difference, however some pomelos have thicker skin than others, so the need may vary.

5.    Slice.

6.    Boil in water for 10 minutes and drain. Repeat this step 3 times.

7.    Using a cup, measure how much pomelo you have. Mine came to 2 cups.

8.    In a pot, put the same amount of water as your measure of pomelo (I used 2 cups of water) and add sugar.
Some recipes called for 3 cups of sugar for 2 cups pomelo. Most called for equal amounts. I used about 1 ¾ cups and personally, I still found it too sweet, but then I’m not used to eating a lot of desserts. Heat the water and sugar until the sugar dissolves.

9.    Add the pomelo slices and cook on low heat uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the water has been absorbed. I lost track of time, but it took about an hour.

Pomelo is almost done

10. Place the pomelo pieces on a rack to dry. 

Tip: I lined the tray underneath the rack so I wouldn’t have to clean it up.

11. Roll each piece in a bit of granulated sugar. 

     I thought I’d be able to skip this step, but it adds a lot. The pomelo pieces were sticky to the touch without it, and the contrast of the soft pomelo and the hard sugar crystals is very pleasing.

Enjoy!

Candied Pomelo Peel

This post was shared with Beyond the Peel,  Real Food Freaks, Food Renegade, The Nourishing Gourmet, Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Healthy Home Economist, Hartke is Online, Real Food Forager, Simply Sugar and Gluten free,  and the The Prairie Homestead.