Poached Lemons
If you're looking to take your recipes to the next level, you've come to the right place! Today, I'll be sharing a fantastic technique for preparing poached or semi-confit lemons, a versatile flavor enhancer used in a wide variety of dishes including chestnut cake, lemon pies, raspberry-lemon-basil cookie, entremets, and even tiramisu. This recipe works with oranges too. The process is a slow dance between heat and sugar, a patient simmer that turns bitter edges into silken complexity. Their texture is the real revelation: firm enough to hold their shape in a cookie or a layered entremets, yet yielding enough to dissolve on the tongue, releasing a flavor that is unmistakably lemon, yet deeper, rounder, and more soulful than the fruit in its raw state.
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Poached Citrus Uses
- Poached lemons can be used for many pastries such as lemon-shaped dessert, ice cream and sorbet, lemon pie, cheesecake etc..
Blanching the Lemon Peel
- The white pith of lemon peel is where most of its bitter compounds reside. Blanching is the key to taming that bitterness. By placing the peel in cold water and allowing it to come slowly to a boil, you encourage a gentle, thorough extraction—a method far superior to plunging it directly into hot water, which would seal in those unwanted flavors.
Preparation of the Lemon Wedges
- Remove the lemon stems, cut the lemons in half, and divide each half into large wedges. Trim away the membranes and some of the flesh as well, then remove any seeds. Weigh the prepared wedges to ensure you have 750–800g total. Squeeze the trimmings to extract any remaining juice, strain it through a sieve, and set it aside for later use. Place the lemon wedges in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Drain, then repeat this blanching process once more.
Poached Lemons / Direct Cooking Method
- Cover the lemons with water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer and cook, uncovered, for 3 hours. Leave the lemons in the saucepan and allow them to cool completely to room temperature—preferably overnight. At this point, the poached or semi-confit lemons can be canned or stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for months.
Poached Lemons / Sous-Vide Method
- In a large vacuum packaging bag, add lemons and sugar. Vacuum seal immediately otherwise lemons will begin to render juice which makes it harder to seal; unless you owns a professional grade machine. In a large pot, preheat water first on the stove, and turn off. Set the sous-vide cooking device at 187ºF/86ºC. Immerse bag in hot water and cook for 5 hours. After an hour cooking though, massage the bag to redistribute sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 3 hour prior placing in the refrigerator.
Poached Oranges
- For the cooking and sous-vide method, follow the same protocol. However, oranges shall be blanched to soften the skin prior to cook. To blanch orange, put the wedges in a saucepan and cover with cold water along with a generous pinch of salt. Bring to boil and drain. Repeat once if desired with no additional salt. Cook at 190.4ºF/88ºC for 5 hours.
Candied Lemons or Oranges
- Lemon confit or candied lemons are more concentrated in sugar and firmer in texture than their semi-confit counterparts. They are ideal for use in panettone, king cakes, and chocolate-covered orange peels. The citrus peels can be cut into small sticks (bâtonnet) before being confited.
- Combine the lemons, water, and sugar in a large saucepan. Simmer gently over very low heat for about 4 hours, until the lemons are fully candied. A candy thermometer should read 221°F (105°C) at this stage. Leave the lemon confit in the saucepan with its syrup and allow it to cool to room temperature overnight. Transfer the lemon confit along with its syrup into jars for storage.
Storage and Using the Leftover Syrup
- Poached lemons can be kept for up to 12 months. Once bag is opened, lemons can be re-vacuumed sealed, or canned, or kept in jar for up to 3 months. The candied / confit lemons can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 12 months or much longer in the freezer.If you opt for vacuum sealing, be sure to drain the lemon slices well before bagging them; refrigerated, they will keep for well over a year. As for the remaining syrup, it's far too precious to waste—brush it over sponge layers for pastries, or shake it into cocktails for a fragrant, sweet-tart lift.
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