Candied Lime Peels

I’m not even sure what to say about this recipe! Lots of peeling. Lots of slicing. And lots of boiling. Was it all worth it? Sure. Would I do it again? Sure…if someone wants to prepare the peels for me! I felt like I was cutting and slicing lime peels forever but I’m happy to say that I didn’t cut my fingers at all. Can you imagine the lime juice in a fresh wound. Ouch! If candying citrus peels is on your list of things to do, I say go for it! But I have to warn you that it is definitely a timely process and you will need to wash quite a few dishes when it’s all over. Even though the process of candying the peels was tedious, I always say to try everything twice so I might just have to try candying another citrus peel again sometime. Maybe etrog peels after Succot. We shall see…

Candied Lime Peel Ingredients

makes around 1 cup of peels, so double or even triple the recipe if need be

you can use any citrus you want with this recipe! 

1 1/2 cups sugar (+1 cup for dipping)

3 cups water

5-6 limes (around 1 cup lime peels)

Using a sharp knife, I separated the peels from the meat of the limes.

I saved the pulp for another use (any ideas?) and moved on to the peels. Very carefully, I removed any thick white pith from the peels. The smaller the slices, the easier they were to prepare, even though it took a lot longer. I brought 1 cup of water  and 1 1/2 cups of sugar to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolved, then I set the pan aside. I placed the lime peels in a separate pot and covered with 2 cups of cold water.

I brought the water to a boil, placed the peels in an ice water bath then repeated this process two more times, using fresh water each time. This part was annoying but you don’t want to take shortcuts or the peel will be very bitter. You’ll notice that some of the beautiful green hue of the peels will fade in the hot water but that is totally normal. I placed the blanched peels in the pan of sugar-water. I brought the syrup to a boil then reduced to a simmer and cooked the peels for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Using a slotted spoon, I transferred the peels to a wire rack set over parchment paper to drain and cool. I tossed the sticky limes in a bowl of sugar to coat then returned them to the rack to dry out for a couple of hours.

The candied lime peels were chewy, sugary, and sweet. I have type 1 diabetes so I only ate a few to avoid a major (and literal) sugar-high then I passed the peels along to my friend, Breezy (she owns Breezy’s on Central Avenue…if you didn’t already get the connection from her name). I hope she liked them as much as I did!

You can store the candied lime peels in an airtight container for at least a week, if you don’t eat them all first! And if you happen to have a bowl of melted chocolate nearby (like I did), you can even dip a few for some chocolate covered candied lime peels. Yum!