Candied Grapefruit Peels - An Elegant Dessert

I am trying to expand my repertoire when it comes to food preserving. I am also on a huge diet so I am having to modify the way I prep food to reflect that. I am down 32lbs with much more to go. However one of the things I learned is, if your food is really satisfying you don't need a lot of it. I have a horrible sweet tooth, so these candied peels are great for me. You only need a little and they pack a huge flavour punch.

Now you can use ruby red grapefruits like I did, but Cara Cara oranges also turned out amazingly well with this recipe too. Start with the peels of 2 grapefruits or 3 oranges. Cut the peels into strips leaving the white pith attached. (I have read that officially it's 3/8" strip with 1/4" pith.)

Essentially now it's about boiling and sugaring. Place the peels in a small saucepan, add cold water to cover and boil. Repeat this 2x and drain. Then in the same saucepan bring the peels, 1 cup of white sugar and a half cup of cold water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the peel is translucent - which my stove top took

 took 20 minutes to do. When done - drain the liquid into a jar. Transfer the peels to a wire rack and cover in sugar. The recipe I used suggested 1 cup of sugar. I wound up having to re toss them in sugar about 2 hours in because mine were still limp. I found chilling them in the fridge also helped speed up the process. After the were done I melted Belgian dark chocolate wafers and dipped the peels in about half way up. Allow to cool and enjoy! As for the syrup, I saved it and have used it as extract flavouring for cakes and cookies. Use sparingly as it is potent!