Shaddock candy; grapefruit too

Who doesn't enjoy a piece of shaddock candy?

Candied shaddock!

Sometimes, when we were young, we would receive as a special treat, a piece of shaddock candy. It looked like the quartered peel of a grapefruit, pink, citrusy, sweet and dusted with sugar. I imagined it was made in a laborious process of boiling in sugar and never thought that it would be something that I could make - with all the grapefruit skins that went into the compost heap.

It took a simple sidebar in my Bon Appetit magazine to let me know how easy it is to make. The delight of coating these candied strips in Cocobel dark chocolate was the last incentive.

Shaddock: these are the largest of the citrus varieties

Peel zest which may be dried and added to other dishes

Shaddock zest: fragrant aromatic oils

The method is simple. Start with one large shaddock. Remove the zest by peeling as thinly as possible. I use the vegetable peeler that I picked up in the Eumundi market in Brisbane two years ago.
Cut through the peel and remove from the fruit, in quarters. You can further slice the peels if you want. Bring the peels to the boil in water to cover. Discard this water. Add two cups water and bring to simmer. Depending on the size of your shaddock, add two to four cups of white sugar, and simmer over slow heat until the sugar has melted and is absorbed. Keep on low heat until all water is absorbed. Keep watching: you don't want it to burn.

Lay out the strips of candied peel on a metal sheet or greaseproof paper to cool. If you want to dry out the candy even more, put into a 250F oven for half an hour. Sprinkle with sugar and store in the refrigerator.

GRAPEFRUIT CANDY: You can make this with grapefruit peels. Grapefruit peels are thinner and more delicate than shaddock. You might use grapefruit peels with or without removing the zest; with more or less sugar.

Remove the peels

Cut peel in slices

Boil and drain three times

Shaddock candy: colour of the sun. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.