10 January 2014

I hate food waste #1: Candied Grapefruit Peel

GrapefruitPeel1

My wife and I each grew up in homes that eschewed food waste. It’s a trait we inherited honestly, and one that we practice in our own home to this day. We’re the type of people who put a tablespoon of hummus in a container and save it until “someday one of us might want just a bite of hummus on a cracker.” Then, periodically, we come across a container of some unrecognizable leftover and ask “what is this?” Then throw it away as inedible.

When my January Bon Appetit magazine arrived, there was a tempting photo and article on making candied grapefruit peel. (Click here to view it.) My wife had just bought a bag of grapefruit for my breakfast, and I had noticed that these grapefruit had nice, thick peels. It would be a shame to just throw away the peels after enjoying the fruit for breakfast.

So the next day, I tried the technique portrayed in the magazine. They actually turned out quite well. The photos here are of the ones I made. They look nice, but not quite as appealing as the Bon Appetit photos. The only trouble is, I now have a freezer bag full of candied grapefruit peel and I have to figure out a recipe to use them in. I make a biscotti for my wife that uses candied orange peel. (Now that I know the technique, I may make my own orange peel rather than buy them in the supermarket. They’re sometimes hard to find anyway.) I may try modifying the recipe and use grapefruit peel instead. GrapefruitPeel2

The technique calls for boiling the peels in simple syrup. After I was done with the recipe, I had a cup or so of citrus flavored syrup. I poured that into a jar and refrigerated it. It makes a nice sweetener for cocktails, like an Old-Fashioned.

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