If you're looking for a tasty way to preserve grapefruit skin, look no further than this easy recipe for candied grapefruit peels! This recipe turns bitter peel into a sweet and tangy candy that is perfect for snacking.
Looking for more candied peel recipes? Make sure to try these recipes for candied lemon slices and candied orange slices.
Why This Recipe Works
- We share the best way to prep the grapefruit. Although you can cut the skin off with a knife, this means you'll have more irregularly shaped pieces. The best way to get a uniform strips is to juice the fruit and scrape out the membranes from the peels, then slice.
- The peels are blanched 5 times. This step is essential to making candied peel that isn't bitter, so don't skimp on doing it five times.
- The peels are dried quickly. Waiting for the peels to air dry can take 1-2 days depending upon the humidity and temperature, so it's much faster to dry them in the oven at a low heat in just a couple of hours.
Ingredients
Want to know what ingredients you'll need to make candied grapefruit peel? Fortunately, you only need three simple ingredients that you'd already have at home! Let's talk about those before we get started.
- Grapefruit: Use ruby red or white ones in this recipe. When selecting the fruit, make sure they are heavy, smooth-skinned, and free from blemishes.
- Sugar: You'll need basic granulated white sugar for this recipe. Some will be used for the simple syrup, and a little extra will be needed to roll the peel in once it's candied and dried.
- Water: You'll need a lot of tap water for blanching the peels, but you'll also need some filtered water for making the simple syrup.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Want to try this with lemons or oranges? Use our mixed peel recipe.
- Can I use a sugar substitute in this recipe? Sugar is a crucial ingredient in this recipe, as it preserves the fruit and pulls water out during the candying process, so it can't be substituted. This recipe hasn't been tested with any alternative sweeteners.
How to Make Candied Grapefruit Peel
Gather the ingredients.
- Cut the fruit in half with a sharp chef's knife. Make sure to cut them crosswise (at a 90° angle to the stem ends) to make them easy to juice. (image 1)
- Use a large citrus press or reamer to extract the juice from each half. (image 2)
- Use a serrated spoon to scrape out the flesh and membranes left behind in the shells. (image 3)
- Use a sharp chef's knife to cut each half into four pieces, then slice each piece into 1 cm strips. (image 4)
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil, then add the peels and simmer them for 5 minutes. This blanching process removes the bitterness from the peels, making them palatable. (image 5)
- Immediately drain the peels and shock them in an ice bath to halt their cooking. Repeat the boiling and shocking process an additional 4 times for a total of 5 blanchings. Do not do fewer than 5 blanchings, or you will have bitter peels. (image 6)
- Once the peels have been blanched five times, pour the filtered water into the pot, then add the sugar. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is simmering. (image 7)
- Add the drained, blanched peels, cover, and simmer over low heat for 45-60 minutes. The peels should be soft and translucent as in the photo above. (image 8)
- Drain the peels and spread them on wire racks set over cookie sheets to catch drips of syrup. (image 9)
- Let them air dry overnight (or up to 1-2 days), or speed up the drying process by baking them at 180°F for 1 ½-2 hours. They should be mostly dry but still slightly tacky. (image 10)
- Roll the peels in granulated sugar to reduce stickiness and for a prettier appearance. (image 11)
- Let the candied peels cool completely, then enjoy as a snack! (image 12)
Recipe FAQs
In moderation, candied grapefruit peel is good for you, but it does contain sugar. Grapefruit peels contain a higher concentration of fiber, vitamins, and minerals than the fruit itself does. However, they are extremely bitter on their own, so when they're candied with sugar, they are much more palatable.
There are several things you can do with grapefruit peels, so don't throw them away! The tastiest way to use them is to candy them into a tasty treat, but you can also use them to make infused spirits or extracts, add flavor to meat dishes, or even to make cleaning supplies. The essential oils in the skin have many health benefits as well.
Yes, it's definitely safe to eat a grapefruit peel! However, it's best to only eat peels from organic, unsprayed ones to minimize pesticide exposure. If you can only get conventionally grown ones, make sure to clean the peels thoroughly before eating or candying them.
You can dry grapefruit skin in a dehydrator, but the best way to preserve it is to candy it. Otherwise, it will be very bitter and not pleasant to eat. To do this, you'll blanch it several times to remove its bitterness, then simmer it in sugar syrup and dry it out.
Leftovers: Candied grapefruit peel will keep for several months if it is stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place.
Freezing: Seal in an airtight container or zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 year. Defrost at room temperature.
Serve
Looking for creative ways to use candied grapefruit peel? Here's some delicious serving suggestions and recipes that use this delightful treat! It's perfect as a garnish for mocktails, like this grapefruit ginger fizz or this Cinderella mocktail. Use this peel in baking, like hot cross buns, stollen, panettone, or julekake. Or add it to salads like this spinach apple salad or cranberry orange relish.
Want to make other types of candied fruit? Try our recipes for candied orange slices, candied lemon slices, candied ginger, and mixed peel.
Expert Tips
- Blanch the peels 5 times before simmering in the sugar syrup to prevent a bitter result.
- Keep the sugar syrup left over from simmering and use it to sweeten mocktails, tea, or in poke cakes.
- Don't want to dry them in the oven? Air dry instead. Depending upon the humidity, it could take as few as 8 hours or as long as 1-2 days.
- Roll in sugar while still tacky to reduce stickiness and to have a better presentation.
Other Candy Recipes
Recipe
Candied Grapefruit Peel
Ingredients
- 3 large grapefruit, preferably organic
- 3 cups filtered water, plus extra for blanching
- 3 cups granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling
Instructions
Prepping the Grapefruit
- Clean: Soak the grapefruit in a large bowl of hot, soapy water and scrub them well to remove any wax or other residues. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a towel.
- Juice: Use a sharp knife to split the grapefruit in half crosswise. Juice them with a large citrus press or reamer, and reserve the juice for another use.
- Scrape: Use a grapefruit spoon (one with serrated edges) to scrape out the flesh and membranes left behind in the grapefruit halves. Discard the pulp.
- Slice: Cut each half into four pieces, then slice each piece into 1 cm strips.
Blanching the Peels
- Boil: Fill a large Dutch oven with enough water to cover the peels, then bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium, add the peels, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Shock: Immediately drain with a skimmer and shock them in a bowl of ice water to halt their cooking.
- Repeat: Repeat the blanching and shocking another 4 times for a total of 5 blanchings. Do not skip this step, as it is crucial to removing bitterness.
Candying the Peels
- Simple Syrup: Rinse out the pot, then pour in the filtered water and add the sugar. Stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is simmering.
- Simmer: Drain the peels and add them to the syrup. Cover and simmer for 45-60 minutes, or until they are translucent and soft.
- Drain: Use the skimmer to drain the peels, then spread them on wire racks set over rimmed cookie sheets to catch any drips of syrup.
- Dry: Bake at 180°F for 1 ½-2 hours, checking halfway through. They're done when they're mostly dry but still tacky. Alternatively, you can let them air dry, which can take from 8 hours up to 3 days.
- Roll in Sugar: Once they have dried out, roll them in extra granulated sugar to reduce stickiness. Let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place or in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- Blanch the peels 5 times before simmering in the sugar syrup to prevent a bitter result.
- Keep the sugar syrup left over from simmering and use it to sweeten mocktails, tea, or in poke cakes.
- Don't want to dry them in the oven? Air dry instead. Depending upon the humidity, it could take as few as 8 hours or as long as 1-2 days.
- Roll in sugar while still tacky to reduce stickiness and to have a better presentation.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Debbie
My grandmother and great aunt used to make these decades ago, and my (now 92 year old) father and I loved them. I remember though, it was a bit of an acquired taste because their version was still quite bitter.*
Would blanching them four times possibly work to achieve that? Or do yours still have a "good bit of that bitterness," (like a bitter marmalade)?
My grandparents pioneered in the Coachella Valley Desert in the early 1900s, made adobe bricks from dried river mud, manure and hay, built a lovey home complete with gorgeous river rock fireplace, and grew grapefruit alternating between rows of tall date palms, both of which were among the first in California. They grew many other crops as well, but those are the two that are still treasured and unique, (sweetest grapefruit ever), to that area. Boy do we have a passel of wonderful stories from those early days!
Thanks for the details about storing these. It's good to know they'll last a good long time!
Emma Fajcz
Thanks for sharing that sweet story, Debbie! To answer your question, blanching the peels three times still keeps some bitterness in them. Blanching them four times definitely makes them less bitter--so do whichever way you prefer!
Jasmine
Do you use fresh water for each blanching? Or can the water be reused to boiling again?
Emma Fajcz
You'll need to use fresh water for each blanching. That ensures that the bitterness from the peels is removed a little bit more each time. I hope you enjoy the grapefruit peels!
Mal
I can't get enough of this, it's so simple and tasty and worked perfectly following the recipe exactly! Do you know if it would work with frozen peels, so I can collect up a bigger batch to prepare all together?
Emma Fajcz
Thank you so much, Mal! Freezing the peels as you go and then thawing them before blanching should work fine. We haven't tested it, though, so let us know how it goes!
Mal
Came back to say I tried freezing to cook a bigger batch and it still worked great. I also used orange and lemon peels this time. What I really like about the grapefruit peels, is that they become a little translucent and have a gummy texture just like a lolly. I let my sugar boil a little too long and those on the bottom of the pot became like more hardened candy which was a happy little accident to add some different textures. As a huge sweet tooth I'm really glad to have found this recipe!
Emma Fajcz
That's lovely to hear, Mal! Thanks for sharing.
Alex
The peel is soft and the crunchy sugar on the outside is lovely. I like the slight hint of bitterness at the end.
Emma
Thank you so much, Alex!
Beth
This candied grapefruit peel is very tasty, chewy, and with a light grapefruit taste. Delicious and very pretty!
Emma
Glad you enjoyed it, Beth!