Candied Buddha's Hand Citron

-
Our friends Pat and Allen have a Buddha's Hand Tree, and offered us a chance to harvest a couple of the fruits! Pat also shared her recipe for delicious candied Buddha's citron. It's yummy as candy or in cookies -- and it makes your kitchen smell heavenly as you cook it up. 

Ingredients

1-2 Buddha's hand citron, washed well, and chopped (as described below).

For every 3 C chopped buddha's hand (I often have 6-9 C), use:
- 2 C water (takes longer to reduce the more water you use)
- 3 C granulated sugar (sometimes I use 2 C and it seems to work fine)

Instructions

Dice the citron, taking care to use only the portions that include the zest and some pith. Discard interior pith portion that has no zest.

Option: To reduce cooking time below, place diced citron in saucepan covered with water, bring to boil and simmer 30-40 min; drain.

Put candy thermometer in a pan, add the diced citron and the water and sugar.

Put it on medium heat and wait for it to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Adjust the heat to a simmer and allow it to bubble slowly for an hour or two (less if pre-boiled), stirring occasionally (I set a timer for 10-15 minutes to check and stir). 

As it reduces, the sugar syrup will become thicker and the fruit will start to become translucent. Toward the later stage of thickening, the temperature will finally begin to climb above 220. Begin watching closely, checking every 5 minutes.

Bring to 230 degrees F, the soft thread stage, then remove from heat. Do not allow the temperature to exceed this stage or you will not be able to separate the candy and it will become brittle.

 Turn off the heat and rest the citron in the syrup for 30 minutes or so. The resting period helps the syrup to fully penetrate the fruit.

Drain the citron through a sieve or colander, retaining the delicious syrup, which should be refrigerated.

Spread the citron on a cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper, scattering to separate the citron if possible. Allow to dry completely. move it around with a spatula occasionally. You might change the paper the next day to get rid of the excess sugar and speed the drying process. It can take 2-3 days to dry fully.






 When dry, store the candied citron in the refrigerator and use in baking or as candy. The syrup is delicious poured over vanilla ice cream.

Thanks, Pat & Allen!

Cooling 30 minutes to rest and absorb the syrup; then drain, spread on sheet, and save syrup!





Buddha's Hand tree:


A few days later, Pat and Allen gave me 8 more! That led to biscotti :)


 

Walking through China Town in SF a few days after that, we saw them for sale - for $7 a pound!


Popular posts from this blog

Blood Orange Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

-
Image
Shelley Million gave us a blood orange cake when we made a backyard visit in March, and it was divine! I asked Larry what he wanted for his birthday, and he said this cake. Shelley made it with regular oranges and without the topping, and we had lots of oranges on our tree, so I did the same - except I made the topping and used a few blood oranges there, figuring I'd make it extra pretty for the birthday boy. I also doubled the recipe to make 2 rounds since we had 2 birthday parties, but 1 round is plenty for one group. (Also, our tree's oranges are HUGE, and blood oranges at the store were much smaller, so I used fewer oranges; adjust depending on your orange size.)  Ingredients (Makes one tall round; double for 2 rounds) zest from 2 oranges 1/2 C orange juice (from the 2 oranges) 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for greasing 1 1/2 cups flour 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder, unsweetened 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/4 C sugar 1 C water 1 1/2 tsp white vinegar topping: 1 C powd
Read more

Za’atar Roasted Tofu with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Tahini

-
Image
Judy and Robert made a variation of this delicious NYTimes recipe for Za’atar Roasted Tofu With Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Lemony Tahini for lunch before we enjoyed a beautiful hike through redwoods at Robert's Regional Recreation Area . Below is a variation close to what they made, and I want to replicate! Ingredients 14 oz firm tofu, drained 1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (can also try butternut squash) 1 (8-ounce) bag leafy greens, such as baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, or mixed greens Salt and pepper Marinade: 3 garlic cloves, diced 2 lemons 2T oil 1 1/2 T za’atar dry spice mix  1 tsp dried oregano or marjoram 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 T soy sauce (for 2nd half of marinade, used on tofu) Dressing: 1/4 C tahini 1 T honey 2T water Farro, barley, wild rice medley, or other grain, for serving Instructions Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut the drained tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Combine the chickpeas and tomatoes on a half
Read more

Zucchini Mushroom Quiche with Red Pepper Relish

-
Image
Our neighbor Elsa gave us 4 beautiful fresh leeks from her garden. I had been planning to make my chickpea tart , but then I found a mushroom leek quiche in Vegan Comfort Classics that looked worth a try! Here's my slightly adapted version, using zucchinis and mushroom. The red pepper relish is amazing on crackers or anything else you might serve a chutney with.  If you don't have time to make the relish, cranberry sauce or mango chutney is pretty good with the quiche. The Parm is totally optional; I've made this several times and don't usually bother with it anymore. Ingredients 1 large or 2 medium pie crusts; I like Wholly Wholesome or an easy  whole wheat pie crust Veggie saute: 2 T canola oil 2 C leeks or onion, diced 1-2 C mushrooms, sliced 2 C zucchini or broccoli, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tsp sage (or 1T fresh) 1 tsp tarragon Tofu mix: 2 12-oz silken tofu 1/4 C nutritional yeast 1/3 C chickpea flour 1 T white v
Read more