A "Confit" is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat by salting and cooking and then storing it in its own fat which acts as a preservative. That method is followed using fruit and sugar in this recipe which comes from my "Chocolates and Confections" book by Peter Greweling. I grew up loving these treats and used to get them from time to time from Boehms Candy shop in Issaquah, WA. I tried making them once before but the recipe didn't work so thankfully this one did and they came out just as I had remembered them; slightly chewy, strong citrus flavor, sweet and nicely balanced with the chocolate covering. I took the recipe below and julienned the quarters which yielded over 100 pieces, and then dipped them in tempered chocolate. My one mistake was mixing lemon and orange quarters together in the syrup mixture. The lemons took on the orange color so in the future I'll do either oranges or lemons in a batch. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
5 Oranges, Lemons or Grapefruits
3 Cups Sugar
2 Cups light Corn Syrup
2 Cups Water
DIRECTIONS
1. Quarter the fruits and peel the skins off the interior. Reserve the interiors for another use.
2. Put the skins in a 4 quart saucepan and cover them with cold water.
3. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and drain. Repeat this step two more times, using fresh water each time.
4. Combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in the now empty 4 quart saucepan and bring to a simmer.
5. Add the blanched citrus peels, cover and return to a simmer.
6. Simmer the skins gently for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature in the syrup.
8. Store refrigerated in the syrup in a sealed container for up to 4 weeks.
They look great. I put mine on a wire rack so the sugar doesn't collect underneath the fruit when drying. Great job ! Thx for sharing.
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