Making your own mixed peel is a breeze. It takes hardly any time at all but is a process that is completed over two days. Now’s the time to be making it. Backyard citrus trees are laden and christmas cake making time is just around the corner. I’ll be making my christmas cake next month so it can mature fully before it’s devoured! So here’s how I make mixed peel. You can use any citrus that you have; limes, lemons, grapefruit, oranges or tangelos.
Ingredients;
5 average sized citrus fruits. Today I used oranges and lemons
1 1/2 cups sugar
Peel the fruit in strips about an inch or so wide, leaving as much of the white pith on as you can.
Cut the peel into approx 1/4 inch wide pieces.
Now place the chopped citrus peel into a saucepan. Just cover the fruit with water. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes of simmering, drain the water off. Repeat the process by putting the peel back into the pan and add enough water just to cover. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Drain the liquid off again but this time reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.
Pour the reserved liquid plus 1/2 cup water and 1 cup of the sugar into a saucepan. Gently bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Once the sugar mixture has come to the the boil pour over the peel and leave to stand overnight.
Come the next day, place the peel and the liquid, and the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar into a saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring up to the boil and reduce heat to a simmer, continuing to simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and drain well.
Spread the peel out on grease proof or brown paper and allow to stand overnight to dry. Occasionally move the peel about with a fork to keep them separate.
If storing your mixed peel in the fridge, it will last for about one month. If you want to keep for longer you can freeze in little snap lock bags. Perfect for Christmas cake and Easter hot cross buns.
I’ve since made these. I tripled the recipe and used grapefruit, tangelos, oranges and lemons.
Thanks for the great recipe. I have issues with Free-Glutamates and MSG. My peel looks fab and tastes lovely can’t wait to put in in my Christmas Cake.
Thank you soooo much for posting this simple, but most effective method. Each batch comes out wonderfully.
If spread and separated on a sheet pan and put into the freezer and later portioned into cling warp packets and then into a Ziploc bag, it keeps wonderfully well in the freezer for weeks on end!
Thanks Peter. It sure is a great recipe. I could kick myself that I didn’t make more last season. I will this season because it really does keep for many months in the freezer. I used mine all up over Christmas and had to buy some this Easter for my hot crossies ;(
Thank you for this recipe – just making a batch now for my Xmas cake. I could not find it in the stores here in the USA. Thank you!!!
Thank you soooooooo much! No more yucky stuff with high fructose corn syrup for us which is all you can get in the states. Wish I could make suet now! 😉
How wonderful to find a easy way to have really good candied peel. So hard to find uncut peel in supermarkets .Making special wedding cake !
Hi – How long can I keep this in the freezer and how many ounces/grams will this recipe yield? Thanks!! :o)
I’ve kept mine in the freezer for 6 months and it is just fine.
I find that it needs more sugar to balance the remaining bitterness in the peels. Forking it over and sprinkling lightly more granulated sugar accelerated the drying. Additionally, I laid the peels in my oven on the lowest setting to insure a lower moisture content for storage, about 2 hours. I am pleased with the consistency and taste, and expect it will keep quite a long time. Thanks for the recipe.
I used double all the ingredients (5 oranges and 5 lemons) and the peel weighed 348g at the start and 353g at the end. So using 5 fruits like in this recipe you would get about 175g of mixed peel at the end though it would depend somewhat on the combination of oranges and lemons as lemons are smaller. Tastes delicious!
I’ve been wanting to try making Welsh cakes for the hubby, who has been longing for them. Didn’t know exactly what mixed peel was, and certainly could not find any in our stores. I was so glad to find this recipe, and am now waiting for the peels to dry. I’ve used navel oranges for their nice, thick peel, and also limes from our heavily laden lime tree. I’ve also retained the final syrup for use. Thank you !!!
Thank u so much I could not find this ingredient any where in the shops
just tried out the recipe can’t wait to use it in my fruitcake. thanks
Hello – just a quick question. When it stands overnight in the liquid and then again on the paper, is it refrigerated or at room temperature? Thank you!
Hi Katherine, I leave it out at room temperature. I think it would be too damp in the fridge as you are trying to dry it out just a little
I removed the white pith but followed the rest of the recipe and the results are perfect, loved it.
I then thinly sliced the fruit and placed in leftover syrup, bought it to the boil and then bottled the fruit to enjoy another day.
thank you really enjoyed the recipe
Will this work with Splenda?
Hi Eileen, I have no idea about the splenda. I’ve never used it. Maybe make a very small batch using splenda and see how it goes?
thank you very much for your recipe.
but what to do with the sugarliquid of the peel?
Hi marian, I usually discard the syrup.
If you’re using it in to decorate the tops of cakes, would you cut it into chunks after peeling or after drying?
I would cut it before drying as you probably want all the cut edges to be candied.
Thanks! Since the pieces are smaller, do you think they’ll need less time simmering then?
The time is more about getting the syrup right to candy the fruit.
Can this be used in fruitcakes ???
absolutely! I use it in fruitcakes and hot cross buns.
My wife has been doing this for years. When an orange or a lemon is used in the house she chops the peel that evening when watching Telly and saves it in the freezer. She usually removes most of the pith. When a few pounds have accumulated she does a “boil up” on a day she has no other occupation and then freezes the final product in half pound packs so there is always a supply available. (unless the children have robbed it)
I really liked your post. I read your blog quite often and I just shared it on Pinterest.
Keep up the good work.
Going to try this and let you know. I have 5 ozs candied mixed peel left from some I bought on an overseas trip. The Farmer’s Market near here said they used to sell it but not any more. My version will have diced lemon peel, lime peel and very firm papaya. Hope it works !!
Love the sound of that with the lime and the papaya. Let me know how it turns out.
Well did it work? I am curious…
same!
I love this recipe, got to start again ready for Christmas as my freezer went on the blink! and I had to throw it away. It keeps for ages in the freezer. I use it in my Christmas puddings which I make for friends and family. The recipe for that is my nan’s and beats shop bought ones.
how annoying at the least (IF YOU are in NZ) it’s the right season for lush citrus. Would love your pud recipe!
How much in grams of mixed peel does this recipe give you?
I need 250 g so wondering how much peel I need to start
.thanks
I couldn’t say for sure Peter but I’m pretty sure that the basic recipe will give you 250grams.
Is there anything you can use the citrus infused syrup for as it seems such a waste to throw it away?
Maybe an orange semolina cake where you drizzle the syrup over the cooked cake? or in cocktails?
Love this! Just made a 5x batch of chopped rinds, all my own fruit and a lot of grapefruit and it’s now drying in a low oven as Joanna suggested. So easy and I’m delighted with the result. The cost of mixed peel has risen so much recently in Australia it’s become uneconomical to buy as I use it a lot. Problem now solved, thank you!