Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Candied Lemon Peel
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peels
Cut the lemons in half lengthwise.
Boil the lemon halves until soft.
Remove the pulp from the lemon halves.
Soak the lemon skins in cold water.
Make the syrup and candy the peels
Boil 2 lbs of sugar with 1 pint of water until it reaches 220°F (104°C).
Remove the skins from the water and pour the cooled syrup over them in an enamel dish.
Drain the syrup off the peels.
Boil the peels again to 224°F (107°C), adding 1 to 2 more lbs of sugar.
After cooling slightly, pour the syrup over the peels and let them stand overnight.
Repeat the process for two more days, increasing the boiling temperature to 227°F (108°C) on the first day and 230°F (110°C) on the second day, adding more sugar each time.
On the last day, place the peels into the boiling syrup at 230°F (110°C) and stir until the syrup turns sugary.
Pack
Remove the peels and pack them in boxes with sheets of waxed paper.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lemons
- Supply the peel, which is candied after the pith is removed.
- Sugar
- Replaces the water in the peel and, as syrup, makes the peel sweet and preserved.
The step that matters
Raising the syrup temperature in stages. Each boil concentrates the syrup further, so more sugar is absorbed and the peel stays preserved. Boiling too hot or too fast can scorch the sugar, while too cool a boil leaves the peel wet and prone to spoiling.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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