Why Candy Citrus Peel?
Candied citrus zest (aka candied citrus peel, crystallized citrus peel) is very useful as a garnish or as an ingredient in both savory and sweet dishes.   You can use it as a garnish for cocktails and other drinks too.  It is sweeter and more tender than plain zest.  This method is often used to make candied lemon peel, candied orange peel, or candied lime peel.  It can also be used to candy grapefruit peel, yuzu peel, buddha’s hand peel & meyer lemon peel. 

How to Candy Citrus Peel

1. Peel the zest in large strips off of the washed citrus fruit.
The easiest way to remove zest from citrus fruit is using a conventional vegetable peeler and long broad strokes.  As each large strip comes off the fruit, inspect the inside of the piece for white pith.  If you’re using the zest raw instead of candying it, it is important to remove as much of the pith as possible (scrape it off with a knife point).  If you’re going to be candying the zest, it is less important to to remove the pith.

2.  Make a 50/50 simple syrup. 
Simple syrup is so named because it is simple.  All you have to do to make simple syrup is dissolve 1 part granulated sugar in 1 part water (i.e. 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water) in a saucepan on the stove. 

3.  Cook the zest in simmering syrup.
Stirring occasionally, cook the peel until it becomes semi-translucent and shiny.

4.  Lay the zest out on parchment paper to cool.
Take the zest out of the syrup with a pair of tongs or slotted spoon (do not throw the syrup away!  See uses below).  Lay them out on a sheet of parchment paper to cool, making sure the strips of zest aren’t touching, or they will stick together.

5a. Make soft zest
For soft, chewy, zest: let it cool slightly, slice to your desired thickness (chiffonade-like thin strips are traditional) and toss in granulated sugar to coat.  Store in an air-tight container and use in cookies, cakes, mousses and ice creams.

5b. Make hard zest
For crunchy zest or zest powder: Put the parchment paper with the zest in a sheet pan and bake in a 225 degree oven to dry out (don’t let it brown).  Once it is hard and crispy, remove it from the oven and let it cool.

Candied Zest Powder
Make hard citrus peel following the instructions above, and once it is cool grind it into powder using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.  Candied zest can be used to season dishes as-is, or added to spice rubs.  It will keep for about three weeks in an air tight container.

Uses for the leftover candying syrup:
The citrus infused simple syrup can be saved in the fridge and has a variety of delicious uses.  It can used to sweeten and flavor mixed drinks and iced tea, cooked down into caramel, used to make homemade sorbets, or drizzled over cakes before frosting to help keep them moist.

What is Citrus Zest?
Citrus zest is the colorful top layer of citrus fruits’ peels.  Not only is it a good source of color in dishes when used as a garnish, but this layer harbors flavorful and aromatic oils.  This makes zest a great way to add citrus flavor to dishes where the acidity or water content of the fruit’s juice would be a problem.

Using the zest from citrus fruits will help you get more flavor (and therefore value) from your food budget.  Just keep in mind that “bald” fruit which have had their zest removed do not last as long as intact fruit, so try to use them soon after zesting.

Beware the Pith!
Just below the beautiful tasty zest, but above the actual edible fruit, lies the white pith.  This stuff is tough and incredibly bitter.  Any culinary work you do with raw citrus zest should involve a sincere effort to keep as much of pith out of your zest as possible.  If using a grater to remove your zest, this means keeping a careful eye on the fruit as you grate.

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Ingredients:
2 Vanilla Beans (either tahitian vanilla beans or madascar vanilla beans will do)
2 cups of sugar

Step 1) Take 2 vanilla beans and 2 cups of sugar and place together in a pint-sized, airtight jar.

Step 2) Let sit for 3-4 weeks.

Step 3) Open the jar to check the progress. If its vanilla-y enough for you, remove bean and use it for something else. What you are left with is vanilla scented sugar.

For More Potent Vanilla Scented Sugar:
Scrape the seeds out of each vanilla bean (read how to use a vanilla bean for instructions) and mix them into your sugar.  Put the sugar and outer vanilla pods in a pint-sized airtight jar for 3-4 weeks.

To Make Vanilla Flavored Sugar (similar to our professionally made vanilla sugar):
Grind dried-out vanilla beans with granulated sugar…you’ll be able to use this sugar immediately, no waiting required!  See How to Make Flavored Sugars for the recipe & technique tips.

Note: Do not store vanilla beans in the refrigerator, they will dry out prematurely. Instead store them in a plastic bag or container in the pantry.

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How to Candy Flowers

Flowers add bright color to desserts, cakes, and other plates.  For dishes where a little extra sweetness would be welcome, a great trick to increase their visual appeal is to candy them (candied flowers are also known as sugar glazed flowers or sometimes “crystallized flowers”).  Candying flowers is extremely easy as long as you make sure to use the correct ingredients.  You will need flowers, egg whites, and granulated sugar.

Use the Right Ingredients for Safety & Success

Flowers: Be sure to use only edible flowers for this technique (we’re using edible orchids here).  Not all flower varieties are naturally safe for human consumption, and many flowers sold in shops have been sprayed with chemicals that aren’t safe to eat.

Sugar: Though you could use conventional sugar, we highly recommend superfine sugar for candying flowers as the tiny crystals give better coverage and shine.

Egg Whites: The egg whites used in candying flowers are not cooked.  For your safety, you should use only pasteurized egg whites (usually sold in cartons) or egg whites you’ve separated from pasteurized shell eggs.

How to Candy Flowers:

1. If your egg whites are super fresh, and the egg whites are too thick to brush on, it may help to lightly beat them (not so vigorously that you begin to see bubbles) and/or add a little water to loosen them up.

2. Either dip the flowers in the egg white (this works better with large petals than whole flowers) or brush the egg whites onto the flowers using a very well washed pastry brush.

3. Dip the flowers in sugar or sprinkle sugar over the top. Shake off the excess.

4. Let the flowers dry on parchment paper on the counter for several hours (ideally overnight).

5. Store in an airtight container.  Generally candied flowers can last up to a few weeks, though this may vary depending on the variety used, your local climate, and how thorough your egg-white coating is.

6. Use your candied flowers to decorate cakes, cupcakes, top ice cream and custards, or as a plate garnish for almost any sweet treat.

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Simple syrup is so called because it’s…well…simple.  A base simple syrup is nothing more than 1 part water to 1 part sugar.  Use simple syrup to sweeten cold drinks like lemonade, cocktails or hibiscus tea without endless stirring.  Dab it onto cakes before you frost them to help keep them moist.  It’s also an essential part of sorbet recipes.

Basic Simple Syrup Recipe:
½ cup sugar
½ cup water

Mix the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a simmer on the stovetop to dissolve the sugar.  Once dissolved, remove from heat and you have made simple syrup.

Flavored Simple Syrup Recipes:

Huckleberry Simple Syrup:
Add ¾ cup huckleberry puree (from blending fresh huckleberries or frozen huckleberries) to the above simple syrup.

Tellicherry Peppercorn Simple Syrup:
(from our Huckleberry Crème Puree Recipe)
Simmer 1 ½ tbsp whole Tellicherry peppercorns in simple syrup on the stove for 3 minutes.  Strain out the peppercorns and discard.  This method can be used to make other spiced simple syrups using other whole spices like star anise, although the amount and simmering time may vary.

Alcohol Flavored Simple Syrups:
Most simple syrups found in traditional cakes and tortes are flavored with liquor.  Make a basic simple syrup, and let it cool to lukewarm.  Stir in the liquor of your choice to taste.  Then dab the simple syrup on your cake or torte before frosting in order to keep it moist.

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Ingredients:                Makes approx. 20 servings
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Sugar
1 bunch Fresh Herbs (we used Fresh Mint), thicker stems trimmed

Directions:

1. Make a Simple Syrup with the water and sugar. Remove it from the heat and chill it completely.

2. Blanch the herb leaves in boiling water for about 30 seconds.

3. Immediately transfer the leaves to an ice water bath to shock them.  Once they have cooled completely, remove them from the water.  Squeeze out any excess water.

4. Puree the blanched leaves together with the simple syrup.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer.

5. Store the syrup in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Mint syrup is particularly tasty with ice cream.

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Drink Pairing: Sauternes or Vin Santo

Ingredients:      (Makes 6 Servings)
3 cups Heavy Cream
1 Bourbon Vanilla Bean (could substitute a Tahitian vanilla bean)
1/3^rd cup Maple Sugar
6 Egg Yolks
6 Heat Proof Ramekins
Baking Dish large enough to contain all ramekins
Turbinado Sugar (could substitute plain granulated sugar, evaporated cane juice or demerara sugar)
Fresh Mint leaves for garnish

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Ensure your ramekins are perfectly clean.

2. Pour the cream into a saucepan.  Add the split & scraped vanilla bean (how to use a vanilla bean).

3. Scald the cream. Stirring occasionally, cook the cream just until it starts to steam.

4. While the cream is warming up, put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them together with the maple sugar.  Add a pinch of salt.

5. Remove the vanilla pod from the cream and discard.  Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove (enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins in your baking dish).

6. Temper the cream into the eggs. While whisking constantly, very slowly pour the cream mixture (why you need to temper cream) into the eggs.  Strain.

7. Ladle the custard base into the ramekins and put them in your baking dish.

8. Pour the boiling water into the dish, just enough to come halfway up the side of the ramekins.  (Note: if you’re concerned about splashing water on yourself or into your custards, put the baking pan in the stove, then use a pitcher to pour the water in to the dish once it’s already in position).

9. Move the baking dish to the oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes, until the custards jiggle when shaken (not unlike gelatin).  They will continue to cook while they cool down, so you don’t want them to be 100% set.

10. Remove the ramekins from the water bath and let them cool completely.  Move the custards to your refrigerator to chill (ideally overnight).

11. Just before serving, dab off any surface moisture on the custards & brulee them one at a time. 

        a. Coat the top with turbinado sugar.
        b. Using a culinary torch, melt the sugar and caramelize it to your desired level.  Then turn off the torch and immediately pick the ramekin up (by the bottom, be careful of the hot top) and angle it to spread the sugar around in a uniform layer.  It may continue to caramelize slightly after the torch is off.

12. Garnish with a mint leaf. Serve.

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Pasilla Hot Chocolate with Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

Any variety of bulk dried chilies (consult our chile heat scale for help deciding) can be used to make this hot chocolate (although you’ll likely want to change the amounts to fit the chile heat you’re looking for).  Here we’ve used mild pasilla chilies for a fruity chile hot chocolate with very little heat.  Our real vanilla sugar is made with lots of ground vanilla beans, it makes truly tremendous whipped cream, which we’ve used to top this hot chocolate.  Don’t neglect the light dusting of chili powder before serving.  Though it may appear purely cosmetic, it provides a burst of chile flavor up front which is then subdued by the cream.

1 bourbon vanilla bean or Tahitian vanilla bean
Homemade chili powder ground from 2 large dried Pasilla Negro chilies
4 cups whole milk
10 ounces good semi-sweet/bittersweet chocolate
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup+ vanilla sugar

1. Scrape seeds from the interior of the vanilla bean and put them and the pod in the milk in a saucepan. 
2. Add most of the pasilla chili powder, holding some back for a garnish.
3. Scald the milk (cook it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until steam begins to rise).  Remove the vanilla bean pod.
4.  Turn the heat to low, and add the chocolate, stirring frequently until the chocolate is completely melted.
5. Whip the cream. Once it has begun to thicken, add vanilla sugar to taste (you’ll probably want at least a half cup).  Continue whipping until you get firm peaks.
6.  Whisk hot chocolate until frothy, pour into mugs.  Just prior to serving, top each with a dollop of the vanilla bean cream and dust lightly with your reserved chili powder.

Makes 4 servings with extra whipped cream.

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No need to wait for St. Patty’s Day, you can enjoy this upgraded, vanilla-centric Irish Coffee year round.

Vanilla-holic Irish Coffee

2 premium vanilla beans—one for infusing the whiskey, and one for the whipped cream (I used Tahitian vanilla beans)
1 pint Irish whiskey infused with vanilla bean
4 teaspoons of demerara sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 cups of piping-hot, freshly brewed coffee—I prefer french press, but drip coffee also works
(Serves four)

To get started, a day or two prior to making the Irish coffee, infuse about a pint of good quality Irish whiskey.

To infuse:  Place a vanilla bean down on a cutting board, and draw the point of a paring knife down the bean’s center to split it in two. Scrape out the tiny vanilla seeds inside. At this point, you can reserve these for another dish, but I like an extra vanilla-y booze, so I scraped them out, and tossed them into the whiskey with the pods. I let mine infuse for two days.  (For more tips on infusing, check out How to Make Vanilla Extract).

The fun part:  whip that cream. Split open your second vanilla bean, and scrape out the seeds. The empty pod can then be placed into more booze, or used to make Vanilla-Scented Sugar.  Is it a little overly decadent to use this much vanilla in one batch of drinks?  Yes. Yes it is.  Whisk the vanilla seeds with one cup of heavy cream and a tiny splash of your infused whiskey—just enough to keep the cream thin. Stop whipping when the cream is thick, but before any peaks form.

In the meantime, I like to have a french press of strong, dark roast coffee brewing.  Pre-heat your mugs by filling them with scalding water. Once your cream is ready, dump the hot water from the mugs, and pour at least an ounce of whiskey (more, if you’re Irish) and the demerara sugar into the hot mugs. Stir as you pour the coffee in.

According to our Irish sources, it’s only a real Irish coffee if the cream is thin, and poured over the back of the spoon to keep it floating on the surface. Pour the cream slowly over the back of a spoon—3/4 of inch or so.

Inhale that intoxicating vanilla scent, and enjoy.  Sláinte!

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A couple of months ago, Marx Foods asked their fan bloggers to choose three ingredients and cook something with them.

I chose star anise, Madagascar vanilla and Demerara sugar.

I love the shape and flavor of anise and vanilla gives a soft depth to dishes that nothing else can, sugar is rarely in my kitchen, but in small amounts, it blesses food with occasional sweetness and if used sensibly it can give you a lot of taste and enjoyment without adding anything extra to your waistline.

These cookies are an explosion of flavors, the first bite meets you with Himalayan salt and dark chocolate, and then butter, vanilla, anise and brown sugar melt on your tongue. The aftertaste is sweet and deep and you cannot eat too many of them, which is what I like best.

This recipe will make about 25 cookies.

You can keep it simple and skip the chocolate and salt and have your cookies plain or you can go the whole way and have a flavor feast.

Here is what you need for the dough:

1/2 cup butter, cold and cut in small cubes
1 1/4 cup flour (mix of rye and wheat)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp Demerara sugar
12 anise seeds (take out from shells and grind)
1 inch vanilla bean (scrape out inside)
1 tsp fine Himalayan salt

to coat:
2 oz melted dark chocolate
Himalayan salt crystals

In a large bowl, combine the flour, spices, salt and baking powder. Mix well. Mix in the egg yolks and stir. You will have large flour crumbs as a result. Mix in the butter and use your fingers to combine everything well until you have a soft uniform dough. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 370 F (175 C).

To make the cookies, use a flat surface coated with flour. Roll out the dough and cut out 5 mm thick shapes. Bake on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes. Remove and cool off before coating with chocolate if you choose to do so. To coat with chocolate, dip each cookie in melted dark chocolate (melt over medium heat in a small pot immersed in boiling water or in a double boiler), then place on a sheet to dry and sprinkle Himalayan salt on top.

You can store the cookies in a cookie jar until someone sneaks them all out, and if they survive, probably for about a week. Place some star anise inside, to keep the wonderful flavor alive.

Yes, you read that right, a mushroom dessert!  Panna cotta is a smooth, incredibly creamy dessert gelled with gelatin.  And yes, this candy cap panna cotta tastes like mushrooms.  But it’s good, we swear!

The reason it works is because of candy cap mushrooms’ unique toasted-maple flavor and natural sweetness. They’re a cutting edge pastry chef favorite that you just have to try.

Wine Pairing: Vin Santo or aged Sauternes

Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)

4 cups of heavy cream (we recommend 40%+ fat content (aka manufacturing cream) for best texture and flavor, but you could use any cream or milk, including half and half or even skim milk)
1 + 1/4th cups of dried candy cap mushrooms
½ cup superfine sugar or organic evaporated cane juice
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
3 + ½ tsp unflavored powdered gelatin
Neutral flavored oil (optional)
Fresh mint for garnish

Directions:

1. Heat the cream in a saucepan along with 1 cup of the candy caps and the superfine sugar/cane juice.

2. Once it is hot (about 180 degrees, still below a simmer), cover and let stand for 30 minutes to infuse the mushrooms.

3. Using a spice grinder or coffee grinder, grind the remaining 1/4th cup of candy caps into a fine powder. Mix the powder with the vanilla sugar in a small bowl.

4. Bloom your gelatin by soaking it in cold water until the granules or sheets have swelled (when in doubt, see blooming directions on your gelatin box).

5. Lightly oil ramekins, coffee cups, etc to use as molds for your panna cotta using the neutral flavored oil.  If you’re using silicon shaped molds (as we have) you can skip this step.

6. Strain the candy caps out of the cream using a chinois or other very fine mesh strainer. Discard the mushrooms.

7. Remove the gelatin from the water, and stir it into the warm cream (if the cream isn’t warm to the touch, return it to the heat long enough to dissolve the gelatin).

8. Using a ladle, fill your molds, ramekins, or cups with the panna cotta base.

9. Carefully transfer the panna cotta to the fridge to gel (2-4 hours).

10. Once the panna cotta has gelled, carefully remove it from the molds. If it isn’t coming out easily or is breaking, try dipping the bottom of the molds in warm water to help loosen it.

11. Dust the plated panna cotta with the candy cap and vanilla sugar mixture, garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve.

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