Citrus Peel Candy

OK,

This is a whole new world. I'm leaving the company for whom I've worked for my ENTIRE adult life. My departure is without a net. I have no job, no specific plan. I've been keeping a private journal for about a month and a half as this situation has developed.

At this point, the reasons I'm leaving this company after 27 years of dedicated service will remain private. BUT I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to do next and decided to do it somewhat publicly.

Where shall this begin? I'm not sure if I'm going to seek employment with another corporation, or if I'm going to take the plunge and go out on my own either as a consultant or owning a retail operation, or something else entirely that I haven't thought of yet.

So, I guess the first entry is this introduction and introspection. The purpose of BLOGGING, though is to make it a public entry that others will read and encourage. I don't think this entry will draw much.

I think for the month of December, I will follow a COOKING theme. I love to bake and cook and my recent change in employment has given me the opportunity to do just that. So each day, I think I'll post a recipe that I've made in recent days and provide comment and possibly pictures.

This recipe is a great way to use something that most people think is garbage. I save all the thick peels from citrus. Grapefruit in the winter, lemon in the summer, Orange year round. You can stick the peels in the freezer and make the candy MONTHS later. In fact, I just made the last batch of grapefruit from peel I cut up and froze LAST December.

Citrus Peel Candy

8 ounces Citrus peel, cut into thin strips, leave pith on (Grapefruit, orange, lemon work best)
8 1/2 cups water, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon (5 drops) food coloring (optional: I use red with grapefruit peel so that it looks like pink grapefruit, a little yellow to enhance the color in lemon and a mix of the two to enhance the color of orange)

• In a heavy saucepan combine peel and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cook over low hear about 10 minutes. Drain off water
• Repeat 3 more times. This destroys the bitter taste in the peel.
• Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil in sauce pan.
• Reduce heat to a simmer, add peel and cook until peel is transparent (about 1/2 an hour). Usually all of the sugar is absorbed, but watch it carefully. Basically, the amount of sugar absorbed dictates whether the candy is chewy or crunchy. Each type of citrus cooks a little differently. See picture
• Do not cook over too hot a fire or peel will carmelize.
• Remove from heat and separate strips.
  
• Tumble fruit strips in 1/2 cup of sugar
• Spread on a cookie sheet and put in a very low oven (less than 200 F). This step is optional, but can tighten up the texture if the strips are softer than you wish.

The only peel that I've not successfully candied is lime. The peel is so thin that it just seems to get hard before it really gets sweet.