Ingredients
Directions
Among the best lemon varieties that are selected for poaching, candying, curing, and preserving are Meyer lemons and citron de Menton. Here is an awesome way to preserve the whole peel and use the juice for other applications.
Preserved lemon peel enters to the composition of many recipes. A noticeable addition that takes your desserts to the next level. It will enhance your lemon pies (see Premium Recipes), inserts for cakes and entremets, sorbets, sundaes, cookies and cocktails...
Blanching softens the rinds and removes the bitterness. This is important for making candied orange peels but not always essential for lemons especially for thin rind Meyer lemons. I did it anyway for this recipe and it came out excellent.
Cut off lemon ends and cut in 4 or 6 wedges. Remove seeds and some of the exposed membranes. Remove lemon flesh from the peels and save it for drinks, lemon pie, cake insert, sorbet, cocktails etc... Keep peels and rinds intact and blend lemon flesh and sieve for later use. Put lemon peels in a saucepan and cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil, and drain. Put lemon peels back to the saucepan, cover with water and repeat once or twice without the addition of salt.
Sous vide is the process of vacuum-sealing food in plastic pouches and then cooking it slowly in a temperature-controlled water bath. Set your sous-vide water circulator to 190.4ºF/88ºC. In a large vacuum packaging bag, put the blanched lemon peels along with the grated ginger and sugar. Seal and immerse the bag in the water and cook for 4 hours. After an hour or so, give a massage to the bag and put it back in water. Once cooked, remove the bag from the circulator; let cool and refrigerate for up to 6 months. When ready to use, drain and save the rendered lemon syrup for later use. It can be used to moisturize sponges, make sorbet etc... Drained lemon peels can be portioned and vacuum-sealed. Store for weeks and up to 12 months in the freezer.