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12 Days of Edible Gifts: Candied Citrus Peel

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:00:50 -0800

This holiday, I wanted to make homemade candy as one of my edible gifts for friends, and I concluded that candied citrus fruit would be the perfect choice. The recipe only calls for fruit, which I always have on hand, and sugar. Candy making doesn't get more basic than that!

I used oranges, but any combination of lemons, oranges, and grapefruit would be wonderful. I can't wait to give this handmade, preservative-free candy to my friends and family - to do the same, check out the recipe and read more.

Candied Citrus Peel
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

8 oranges, 10 lemons, or 6 grapefruits*
6 cups sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions

Cut ends off fruit, and halve fruit lengthwise.
Insert the tip of a small paring knife carefully between fruit and pith about 1/2 inch deep and cut, following the shape of the fruit and keeping skin in one piece. Turn fruit on other end and repeat.
Using fingers, gently pull the peel away. Reserve fruit for another use.
Place citrus peel in a 6-quart pot; fill with enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts). Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes. Drain. Soak peel in cold water until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.
Using a melon baller, scrape the soft white pith from the peel, being careful not to tear or cut the skin.
Slice each piece of peel lengthwise into thin strips 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.
Stir together sugar and 3 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, about 8 minutes.
Add strips and reduce heat to medium-low. Using a pastry brush dipped in cold water, wash down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan. Simmer until strips are translucent and syrup thickens, about 40 minutes. Let the strips cool completely in syrup for 3 hours (or overnight). Strips can be refrigerated in syrup in an airtight container up to 3 weeks.
For sugared peel, remove strips with a slotted spoon. Using fingers, wipe off as much excess syrup as possible, and roll strips in sugar. Let dry.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

*If using grapefruit, adapt the recipe since the fruit has more pith, which is bitter and must be completely removed. If making candied grapefruit, after scraping the pith from the peel (in Step 4), simmer peel for 20 minutes more, and repeat to remove remaining pith.

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The Battle of The Pink Candy

YumSugar — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:57:11 -0700

As we all know, limited edition candy is all the rage these days. For a while everything came with a coating of dark chocolate or a layer of creamy peanut butter. However right now, the trend seems to be the addition of fruit flavors and pink hues.

This weekend I had the opportunity to try both the limited edition Razzberry M&Ms that I told you about a few weeks ago, as well as the new-ish Strawberry Milkshake flavored Whoppers. The limited edition M&Ms were definitely the preferred option, but to check out what I thought of each, read more

The packaging on the Razzberry M&Ms is a fun, well downright girly, purple with pink accents, and upon opening it there is definitely a slight artificial raspberry smell. Each M&M is magenta colored and initially I thought the flavor was in the candy shell, but after eating several I realized it was actually in the chocolate. Despite how clichéd the raspberry/chocolate combination is, it was actually quite tasty. I honestly enjoyed eating them and hope they introduce a dark chocolate flavor.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the Strawberry Whoppers. Whoppers are generally chocolate covered malt balls, but this edition contains no chocolate. Instead they're malt balls wrapped in a strawberry-flavored white chocolate-ish coating. In theory it's a great idea, but in execution it fails due to the fact that the strawberry coating is ridiculously waxy. After eating a handful my teeth felt laminated and weird. Apparently at Easter they sell a version with a candy shell and I'm pretty positive it might be just what it needs to save it.

So verdict? Hunt down the M&Ms (they're only available for six weeks) and ignore the Strawberry Whoppers until Easter. Oh and stay tuned, I'm sure these won't be the the only limited edition fruit flavored candies.

Yummy Links: From Pawpaws to Patching Pie Crust

YumSugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:45:00 -0700

Legendary Queen's grocer Fortnum & Mason is now available on this side of the pond. - Serious Eats
Learn all about the fruit known as the pawpaw. - The Kitchn
Why foodies should care about the election. - The Epi-Log
How to patch up that hole or tear in your homemade pie crust. - Baking Bites
What to look out for when selecting brown mushrooms. - Chow
Will eating your favorite cheese help prevent cavities? - FitSugar
Whip up a batch of tomatillo salsa in no time at all. - Cookthink
This Halloween, treat yourself to grown-up versions of your favorite childhood candies. - Bon Appétit

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Wrigley to Consumers: We're Getting a Facelift! New Flavors, Too!

YumSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:28:31 -0700

Call me old-fashioned, but I enjoy the little five-stick packs of gum. They're small and easy to carry, and apparently, on their way out. Yep, they're going the way of the dinosaur thanks to a new move by the Wrigley company. Instead of the simple five-stick rectangular packs, consumers will now be able to purchase sleek and slim envelopes of gum. The slimmer design is part of an effort to revive poor US sales. The packaging has been designed to attract teens and young adults - the folks who chew the most gum.

In addition to new packaging, they're also enhancing the flavors of their gum. The Doublemint, Juicy Fruit, Big Red, and Extra lines are all going to be reformulated to include "significant flavor improvements." They also plan on releasing a new line of gum called Fruit Sensations. The flavors will include Strawberry Banana, Berry Pearadise, Island Cooler, and Sweet Watermelon.

Meanwhile, their Orbit line - which is already slim packed and a hit with consumers - will also get a few new flavors including Sangria Fresca, Fabulous Fruitini, and Fruit Sorbet.

So tell me, do the new flavors interest you? How about the new packaging? Will it sway your gum-buying habits?

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Razzmatazz! M&Ms Launches a Raspberry Flavored Candy

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:01:34 -0700

Raspberries always seem to get paired with chocolate, so when I heard that M&Ms was releasing a limited edition "RaZZberry" flavor, I immediately wondered why it hadn't been done before. The Razzes - as I like to call them - are M&Ms first-ever nationwide fruit-flavor and will only be available for six weeks. I haven't seen the bright pink packages yet, but you should be able to find them in convenience stores, drug stores, gas stations, etc. I'm also not sure if it's the chocolate that's fruit flavored, or the shell. If anyone can get their hands on them, please be sure to let us know!

Off To Market: Art Snacks

partysugar — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:15:04 -0700

My friend Vikki is an amazing, up and coming artist. She works at a museum where she sometimes teaches little kids art and how to paint. She is hosting an open house to showcase the kiddies' work and has invited both the children and their parents to the museum. Naturally, she will need an assortment of refreshments and being the artist that she is, she wants both kid friendly snacks and food that is beautiful and graphic like these Puff Pastry Pinwheels With Candied Fruit. She asked me if I had any ideas on what to serve, and now I am asking you, what should Vikki serve at her art party for kids? The snacks should be and look tasty and be both savory and sweet. Please add your best recipes to the recipe database on TeamSugar and give them the keyword, Art Snacks. I love it when you share your recipes with me and I know your ideas will totally impress me, so save those recipes!

Don't know how to add your recipes to the database? It's a cinch - to learn how, read geeksugar's how-to.

Photo Gallery: Candy-Off: Fruit & Nut Chocolate Bars

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:04:52 -0700

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San Francisco's New Candy Store

YumSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:23:18 -0700

June is almost over, but I couldn't let National Candy Month pass by without telling you guys about one of my favorite new places. In the Russian Hill district of San Francisco, Diane Campbell and her hubby Brian have opened a new shop simply called, "The Candy Store." Based on the name you'd assume that the store sells candy - which it does - but it's not like the kind of Sweet World type stores you see in the mall. If that's what you're envisioning, just stop right there: This place is better than that. It's a bright white space sprinkled with walls of clear candy jars, mountains of delicious chocolates, bins of crystal fruit slices and more.

Although it was a dreary gray day when I visited, the inside of The Candy Store was as bright and beautiful as a lovely spring morning - a lovely spring morning in candyland! To find out more about The Candy Store, including lots of pictures, read more

As a kid, owner Diane Campbell wasn't allowed candy and would sneak it from her mom. However like most vices, candy's something you end up craving the more you can't have it. So naturally, as an adult, Diane is now the proud owner of a beautiful store. The store is filled with handpicked items that really cover the candy gamut. From inexpensive candy lipsticks (50¢ each) to pricey imported chocolates, there is something for everyone. She even carries hard to find candy bars like Valomilk, Idaho Spuds, and Sky Bars, as well as the intriguingly flavored Zotter bars (plum bacon anyone?!). My personal favorite is the wide array of of by the pound (around $10-12 per pound) candies including mango chile gumballs, assorted gummi candies (including one that looks like an egg), peanut butter malt balls, green & black "olives" (which are candies that happen to look like olives), black licorice (which apparently sells like mad) and many, many more.

When I asked Diane what she liked best about being the neighborhood candy pusher, she earnestly gushed that it was the customers smiles.

"I'm going to be that candy store in people's memories. That's so freaking cool to me. To be part of that memory is thrilling."

Personally I think the thrilling part is to have this candy store in your memory. So if you're ever in San Francisco, be sure to stop by and tell Diane we said hello! If you're nice she might even hook you up with a sample.

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Fruitcake: Love It or Hate It?

partysugar — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 04:00:23 -0800

In recent years, fruitcake has become one of the most hated holiday traditions. The bread-like cakes, which date back to the seventh century, are packed with candied citrus, nuts, currants, etc. and kept moist with brandy. In 19th-century England, a family's fruitcake recipe was a treasured heirloom. Today the fruitcake, with its fake fruit and neon-colored candy, is ridiculed and all but banished from the holiday table. Still, I'm wondering, is there anyone out there who enjoys fruitcake?

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Taste Test: Young & Smylie Licorice

YumSugar — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:15:39 -0700

Being a big Red Vines and Twizzlers fan, I was excited to find out that Hershey's brand Y&S Candies was debuting a new line of "grownup," bite-sized soft candy, Young & Smylie licorice ($2.99). The licorice is sold in a resealable plastic bag, which locks in the candy's moisture and keeps it soft. Another thing I enjoyed about the packaging was the "licorice lore" on the back: Did you know that the licorice plant Glycyrrhiza, belongs to the pea or bean family?

Enough about the packaging, to see how Young & Smylie licorice tastes, read more.

Peach Mango: This fragrant flavor tasted natural, subtle, and not too sweet with floral and fruity notes of equal parts peach and mango. By far the softest flavor, I would recommend these fruit chews to people who normally eschew licorice for its rubbery texture.

Strawberry: The strawberry flavor wasn't as soft as the peach mango, and it didn't taste quite as natural. However, it didn't have the generic "red" flavor that is sometimes found in punch or mass-market licorice brands. People who love cherry and strawberry Twizzlers or Red Vines will gravitate to this choice.

Black Licorice: The licorice flavor wasn't overpoweringly sweet or spicy. As someone who doesn't care for traditional licorice, I found this to be surprisingly decent. It still wouldn't be my first choice, but if I had to eat black licorice, I would eat this one.

Overall, I had few complaints about these candies. I like the more refined flavors and they might have knocked my favorite licorice Twizzlers Nibs out of first place! To anyone who has tried the new Y&S licorice: what do you think of it?