Saturday, December 01, 2007

Sugared Lemons


I’ve been drinking tea without sugar since I was a kid, but lately I’ve developed a sweet tooth. It’s not that I dump white sugar into my mug by the teaspoonful, but a little subtle sweetness isn’t unwelcome. I usually go for honey, fruit preserves or sugared lemons.

Sugared lemons are just what they sound like: blanched lemons, sliced thinly, and layered with sugar in a clean jar. The sugar works its magic, and a few days later you get lemon slices mingling with lemon syrup. Add a slice of lemon and a splash of syrup to black tea, and you’ve got nice lemon flavor minus harsh acidity.

Method:

Boil some water. Place your lemons in a bowl and splash some boiling water over them. This makes the lemons more fragrant.

While you’re at it, get a clean, empty jar big enough to hold your sliced lemons (jam jars work great), and swivel some hot water around in it. Pour out.

Cut the lemons into thin slices. Place in the jar and pour some sugar over the slices. How much sugar? Your call. I was taught to cover the lemons in sugar completely, but you can use less, of course. Refrigerate. The lemons will develop a nice sugar syrup in a day or two.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHat a nice idea! I recently made candied citrus peel... I'll see if it'll do double-duty for me!

Ann at Redacted Recipes

Mrs. M. said...

Hi Ann-Your candied citrus peel looks good! I was considering trying my hand at it...

Anonymous said...

It is good, but next time I make it I won't remove the pith. The grapefruit slices had quite a lot of pith left on them and they were the nicest, juiciest of the bunch.

Ann at Redacted Recipes

Jesse said...

What a fantastic idea! I have a tree full of lemons in the backyard calling my name! How long do these keep - do you know?

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