It’s always a bit amusing to come across ginormous citron at my suki Mary’s vegetable stall at the FTI market on Saturdays. It happens a couple of times a year, and other shoppers almost inevitably express amazement at the “giant lemons” and buy them probably probably thinking they will yield proportionately more lemon juice. Mary asks me every year what they are called, and I keep explaining that citron aren’t quite just large lemons. In fact, they have nary any juice at all and a really thick pulp. She can’t seem to fathom what they would be any good for… So the last time I spotted them in her stall, she gave me several of them for free as “padagdag” for all the shopping I do with her. She says they rarely sell out.
Back at home, I reviewed old posts on citron here and here, and decided to make a batch of candied citron for future baking use. I used this simple and wonderful recipe from David Leibovitz and ended up with a jar of citron in syrup, and several cups of candied citron (without a final dry sugar coating) for baking. Lots of leftover syrup as well.
Cut the peel into roughly 1/3 to 1/2 inch cubes and place in a heavy pot. Cover with water and bring to a simmer and keep it at simmer for roughly 40 minutes. Drain that and add a mixture of white granulated sugar and water and let that simmer until done. You can drain some of the citron and roll it in sugar or just keep the citron plain. You can also store it in jars covered in syrup.
There was quite a bit of citron syrup left over and I was intrigued by Mr. Leibovitz suggestion to use it in a refreshing, sparking water and citron syrup beverage. In a nice large glass, add some of the syrup, lots of ice and in this case, a small can of Perrier sparkling water.
It WAS refreshing but perhaps I should have added a bit more citron syrup to get the full impact of flavor and sweetness. As for the candied citron, I used some of it in a mostly flourless cake that turned out rather nicely a few days later.
11 Responses
It is an endless source of wonder for me that these fat chunky citrus is identical to the weird looking Budha’s hand variety, give or take one chromosome. Or a piece of information I learnt early this week, that lemon is a cross between citron and sour orange.
We bought a lemon tree from Tagaygay a few years back at first i bear real lemons my Mom planted the seeds from its fruit hoping to have more lemon trees in the backyard, when the seeds grew into a tree it yield humongous looking lemons with thick pulp, almost no juice and filled with seeds… And then for some strange reason the real lemon which we bought from Tagaytay stopped bearing lemons and it’s now also bearing citron… Now we have four citron trees… and one lemon tree convert… hahaha….( i read in your previous post about lemons and mutation… )
Thanks for the recipe, will definitely try this one! =)
Now will have another use for citron other than using it as room fresher! =)
The wonders of hybridization indeed! From an organic farm in San Pablo City I got one of those as huge as a big pomelo. I was anticipating a large pitcher of lemonade for my take but was so very disappointed. Nobody told me there was hardly any pulp to juice , but I got plenty of zest which scented my kitchen.
“The Land Where Lemons Grow” Episode 4 tomorrow. Thanks for the link, Footloose.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0418lny
Try adding some calamansi or lemon juice to your citron syrup so as not to overshoot the sugar. I have a feeling it will still be citrony but not cloyingly sweet.
MM, Cut the citron into baton strips (next time) and after you cooked and cooled them. DIP IN DARK CHOCOLATE!
So the white portion of the rind is not bitter?
I’m sure your suki Mary’s questions will be answered when she gets her hands on your candied citron. What it is and what it is for are two questions she won’t ask you again.
I think I’d add vodka to your citron cooler. :)
I second the motion on the chocolate covered citron strips! Was just snacking on a pack I bought earlier (2€ for a small pouch!). Delicious! Also I felt it was slightly healthier than other incarnations of chocolates hehe!
muddle in some sour plums (white kiamoy) with the syrup before pouring sparkling/soda water and it becomes something else. Calamansi and sour plum drinks are quite popular in Southeast Asia and experimented this combination using Calamansi liqueur last night. I’m thinking it would work as well wih the citron syrup.
I love these as tea. I buy them bottled at the Korean grocery. But apparently, you can make your own: https://generalmings.com/nutritional-benefits-of-korean-citron-tea/
Risa, Love the link you supplied. I have been buying citron tea online for years but never came across GeneralMings.com before. I ordered their organic citron tea and received it two days ago … it was absolutely the best I’ve ever had plus it was USDA organic certified. I’m too lazy to make it but the recipe on their site looks cool.
Yum, Yum … thanks again!
Cheers from Singapore.
Amanda