When I was at culinary school in France, my instructor advised adding a bit of salt when candying citrus peel. When I asked why, he said that for some reason it made the peel soften, but he couldn’t explain why. So although it may be just a culinary superstition, I’ve added salt ever since. If you aren’t superstitious, simply toss the salt over your shoulder and candy the lemons without it. Although it’s not required equipment, a candy thermometer will show you when the lemon slices are done. Fit the saucepan with the thermometer before starting. When the peel is candied, it should read 225°F (107°C).
Recipe information
Yield
makes enough for 1 quart (1 liter) of ice cream
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cut the lemons crosswise into very thin slices. Pick out and discard any seeds.
Step 2
Put the lemon slices in a heavy-duty, nonreactive saucepan and add enough water to cover them by a few inches. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to a low boil, and cook for 15 minutes, turning the slices with a spoon occasionally.
Step 3
Drain the lemon slices, return them to the saucepan, add more water, and blanch them again for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Drain the lemon slices again. Return them to the saucepan and add the 1 cup (250 ml) water, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to reduce to a very low boil and cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced to a thick syrup.
Step 5
If the syrup is too frothy to gauge whether the slices are done, remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for a moment. The lemons should be translucent and the syrup should be thick and shiny. Remove from the heat and let the lemon slices cool in their syrup.
Mixing Them In
Step 6
Place the Candied Lemon Slices in a strainer and drain off as much of the syrup as possible. Chop the lemon slices into small pieces, then fold them into 1 quart (1 liter) of ice cream as you remove it from the machine.
Variation
Step 7
To make Candied Orange Slices, substitute 2 oranges for the lemons.
Storage
Step 8
Candied Lemon Slices will keep for 2 to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
