291488 Tue Jan 07 17:43:14 -0800 2003 14 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1586383 I bought a citron this weekend (it looked pretty). And have been trying to figure out what do do with it. Any suggestions? How would I go about candying it? Have been looking for recipes, but I only find recipes which ask for candied citron ... not how to actually do it. Thank you! Tue Jan 07 17:43:14 -0800 2003 0 jen maiser 1 1586385 Essentially you have to cook the peel for several hours in a sugar syrup, however the sugar to water ratio in the syrup is important. Since fresh citron is pretty rare, I'm not surprised that there aren't many recipes around to candy it. You should look for recipes for candied grapefruit rind and try to adapt it. I know that Jacques Torres "Dessert Circus" has a recipe for candied grapfruit. Tue Jan 07 18:02:06 -0800 2003 1586383 0 rjka 2 1586387 Here's a suggestion Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/22379#82842 Tue Jan 07 18:10:29 -0800 2003 1586385 0 nv 2 1586391 Joy of Cooking should have it, too. For grapefruit peel, it can actually be a relatively quick process, though citron might be different. I never knew there was such a thing as a citron -- always assumed it was some candied fruit code word for something ordinary. Unripe lemon, or something. Again, for grapefruit: You boil it in 4 or 5 successive pans of water (boil, drain, refill, repeat) to get the bitterness out, then boil in a sugar syrup until the syrup is gone. The old Joy of Cooking edition I have calls for 2 parts sugar to 1 part water, and about 1/2 c. sugar to one grapefruit rind. Whole thing can be done in small quantities in 1/2 hour or so. Tue Jan 07 18:13:36 -0800 2003 1586385 0 persynna 3 1586392 You've got a good point. I've never seen a real citron either, but thought that a grapefruit would probably be the closest to it. However the rind could be thicker/tougher than a grapefruit and less/more bitter as well. Tue Jan 07 18:16:42 -0800 2003 1586391 0 rjka 4 1586421 It's interesting to see that there are TWO things called a 'citron' listed in the linked website. The only one I've ever seen for sale is the Buddha-hand one, an odd looking fruit for certain. That was in San Diego a number of years ago (maybe 6 or 8). I bought one because I was so fascinated with how it looked, but I never did figure out what to do with it. It sat in my fruit bowl and startled people for several weeks~worth the price of it to see people's eyes pop out. Tue Jan 07 21:29:13 -0800 2003 1586392 0 Cristina 1 1586404 There are two things called citron (I have found out). The item that is usually found candied is a squash, rather than a citrus fruit. Is your item a squash or a citrus? The citrus fruit that might be called "citron" is the etrog citron used for (I am blanking on the name) the jewish fall harvest festival. There is also an island in greece that makes a liqueur out of it. I know this all begs the question of how to candy this fruit. The recipes for candying citrus peel (ex in better than homemade) would probably work pretty well. Tue Jan 07 19:23:54 -0800 2003 1586383 0 jen kalb 2 1586409 The citron I purchased looks like a lemon. I would love to try and make a flavored vodka or something out of it. I found a picture on the site below that looks like it - I like it because the pic shows how thick the skin is ... You have to scroll down or do a control+F for "citron" to find it ... Link: http://www.foodsubs.com/Fruitcit.html Tue Jan 07 19:50:39 -0800 2003 1586404 0 jen maiser 3 1586418 The link to the picture says that citron is also known as cedro. Here's a link to a lemon liquor called Dopio Cedro: It uses vodka: http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/lemnliqu.htm If you search for the other acronym, yuzu, there are quite a few Japanese recipes. Here's an interesting one for Yuzu vinagrette (scroll to end): http://starbulletin.com/2000/03/01/features/story3.html The link below is for candied citrus peel from the Jacques Pépin web site. There was a really unique version that uses whiskey and honey. Here's the link: http://www.scdrecipe.com/r_016_00044.html This link actually mentions citron under the candied fruits recipe. Scroll down. http://hroger.bravepages.com/recipes/candy.htm Just another variation dipped in nuts http://www.hugs.org/Candied_Citrus_Peel.shtml Is the store you bought the citron at the kind of place where you can ask why people buy them and how they are prepared? Link: http://www.jacquespepin.net/members/recipes/candiedcitruspeels.html Image: http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/citron2.jpg Tue Jan 07 21:02:07 -0800 2003 1586409 0 Stanley Stephan 2 1586420 Jen Kalb wrote: The citrus fruit that might be called "citron" is the etrog citron used for (I am blanking on the name) the jewish fall harvest festival. The etrog is used for the holiday Sukkot that always falls a couple of days after Yom Kippur. For this holiday they are imported either from Italy or from Israel and one can buy them in green or yellow. Tue Jan 07 21:23:11 -0800 2003 1586404 0 RachelMolly 3 1586424 There have also been etrog grown in California. Link: http://www.jpost.com/com/Archive/13.Sep.1999/Features/Article-3.html Tue Jan 07 21:44:08 -0800 2003 1586420 0 Melanie Wong 2 1586437 I have attached below a link which explains the difference between a citron melon and the citrus fruit (which is the etrog - yuzu is something else altogether as has been disussed several times before) Perhaps the nasty little green things wehave all experienced (and have given citron a bad name in the US) are made from the melon citron. I recommend buying a half or piece of citron rather than chopped- then you know what you are getting and can even smell the fragrance, which is delightful. Four winds growers in California sells plants of both the etrog and buddha's hand citrons on dwarfing rootstock so they stay small. I have a big etrog plant blooming now in my parlor - unfortunately, I can smell no scent from these blooms, a negative for citrus. Link: http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod01/01600646.html Tue Jan 07 23:00:53 -0800 2003 1586404 0 jen kalb 2 1586589 I made piles of candied peel this last holiday season (grapefruit, satsuma, lemon, orange, and ginger) and learned a few things, if you're going to try and candy your little find. -Don't skimp on the boil/rinse steps or you'll end up with inedibly bitter peel. Two rinse/boils for oranges, 4 or 5 for grapefruit; citron, I'd guess, is in the middle. -A simple 1:1 sugar syrup works the most easily for boiling the prepared peel and you can easily adjust the quantities without the math making you insane. Boil for about 30 minutes; longer is ok, less is not. -Several recipes I found advised rolling the fruits in cornstarch or powdered sugar; I either left it plain (for cooking) or rolled in granulated sugar (for eating straight--it's the original 'gummy" candy! -If you decide instead to make vodka, buy the very best you can afford. With such a lovely, delicate flavor, it will be nice to be able to sip it cold and straight instead of having to mix it. Wed Jan 08 16:31:59 -0800 2003 1586404 0 alight 1 1586405 Deborah Madison's newest book "Local Flavors" has the best recipe I've tried so far for candied grapefruit. I'd imagine it would work equally well for citron. (By the way, congrats on finding them!) Tue Jan 07 19:24:46 -0800 2003 1586383 0 Kaetchen 1 1586920 Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I followed the Jacques Pepin recipe provided by Stanley Stephan and they came out DIVINE. Very easy recipe ... even for me. Thank you! Thu Jan 09 23:19:08 -0800 2003 1586383 0 jen maiser