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Dessert

Citron Preserves

Citron preserves are sliced citron pieces boiled in sugar syrup until thick.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Citron Preserves

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the citron

  1. Peel off the rind and seeds from the citron, then cut it into thin slices, each 2 inches long.

  2. Weigh the sliced citron and place it in a preserving kettle with enough water to cover it.

Cook and syrup

  1. Boil the citron for one hour, then remove it from the kettle.

  2. Add an equal weight of sugar to the water in the kettle and boil until thick.

  3. Return the citron to the kettle and boil for an additional twenty minutes.

  4. Remove the citron again and boil the syrup until it reaches a thick, molasses-like consistency.

  5. Pour the thick syrup over the citron.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Citron
Provides the main body and bulk of the preserve, softening as it simmers.
Granulated sugar
Sweetens the preserve and, as it thickens into syrup, coats and preserves the citron.

The step that matters

Boiling the syrup to a thick, molasses-like consistency. Sugar concentrates as water evaporates, and the syrup thickens as it cooks down. Stopping too early leaves a thin syrup that won't preserve the citron well, while overcooking can make it hard or caramelize it.

“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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