Christmas is a time for the wonderful sweet fragrances of tasty goodies at holiday dinners and parties. Fruitcake and cookies come to mind most often. Below you will find instructions for making candied and chocolate-coated citrus peels that can be used in many holiday recipes. You can also make those great fruits that are soaked in liquor. Make them yourself and avoid those exorbitant specialty-store prices.
It’s also a great time to make scented decorations and gifts.
Dry your own citrus peels and put them in a special potpourri. Dry slices of fruit for colorful decorations on your holiday cakes.
You will also find instructions on how to make a traditional holiday gift of love and friendship — clove-studded fruit pomanders. Get the kids involved with this one and let them get creative with their designs.
Pomanders, from Old French pomme d’ambre meaning apple of ambergris, have been used since the Middle Ages. It seems the people reeked from body odor so badly that the pomanders, shaped like balls and filled with sweet-smelling herbs and spices, were used to help cover the offensive smells.
The first pomanders were made from gold or silver. They were hung by a cord from the waist or worn around the neck. The herbs inside were also thought to prevent illness.
Culinary herbs were grown in gardens during the Middle Ages, but spices were relatively unknown until the crusaders brought them back from the Holy Land. Even then, they were expensive and not commonly used. As trade routes developed between the West and Far East, spices became more popular and were added to the pomanders for even more fragrance.
The fruit pomanders that we make today are rooted in Colonial and Victorian times, when pomanders were not only decorative but also useful to cover up bad odors. They will serve that same useful purpose today.
Keep closets, little-used rooms and bathrooms fragrant with the sweet smell of spice. They can also be used to keep moths away because moths are repelled by the smell of cloves.
Apples were frequently used as the pomander base during the Colonial period because oranges were too expensive. If a person received an orange pomander, it was greatly prized.
Pomanders today are usually made from oranges, but you can choose apples, oranges, lemons, limes, crab apples or kumquats.
The smaller pomanders can be hung on the Christmas tree or tied onto packages.
The candied peels of oranges, grapefruit, limes and lemons are delicious all by themselves, but are also useful in pastries and other desserts. They keep for months in a jar in the refrigerator, to be cut into a julienne and used to decorate a cold or hot orange souffle or poached fruit.
They make an elegant topping for butter cream on a cake. Packed into little jars, candied peels make an attractive and appealing gift for friends.
Accumulate peels for several days and store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Use the peels from the grapefruit or oranges that you squeeze for breakfast juice. When you need fresh lemon juice or lime juice for a recipe, save the peels.
Candy the whole peel (the top surface, which has most of the taste, as well as the cottony white part or pith underneath). The skins are blanched several times in water and rinsed to remove some of the bitterness. The slight bitterness that they retain is desirable.
Here are two variations: chocolate-dipped peels and candied rinds mixed with dried fruit and macerated in liquor.
You will need:
With a knife, make incisions through the skin of each piece of fruit to separate it into six sections. Separate the skin from the fruit.
Place the peels in a pot and cover with cold water. Use enough water so that the peels are well covered. Bring to a strong boil and let boil for about 30 seconds. Drain in a colander, rinse under cold water, and rinse the pot. Return the peels to the pot, add water, cover, and repeat. Return the peels to the clean pot again and add 8 cups of water and the sugar. Bring to a boil and boil gently, uncovered, for about 1 1/2 hours. The skins should be almost transparent, and there should be just enough thick syrup to coat them.
Transfer the peels to a cookie sheet covered with sugar.
Roll them in the sugar, arrange them on another cookie sheet, and let them cool, dry and harden for 12 to 24 hours.
Chocolate-dipped candied peels make a very elegant, delicious ending to a meal. Serve them with after-dinner brandy or liqueur. Or use them to decorate a cake, or chopped to flavor pastry cream for crepes or a cake.
You will need:
Melt both kinds of chocolate in the top of a double boiler and stir in the oil. Do not let the chocolate get too hot or it will lose much of its shininess.
Pour the melted chocolate into a narrow dish or glass. Dip approximately half an orange peel in the chocolate, lift it, and let the excess chocolate drip off for a few seconds.
Place the peel on an oiled tray. Repeat for all the rinds. Let them set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Lift the pieces from the oiled tray (some of the chocolate will stay on the tray) and arrange them on a platter, or place them in a jar for storage in the refrigerator.
These diced candied fruits are ideal for fruitcakes, souffles, or charlottes, or as a flavoring for pastry cream.
Cut the apricot halves and the candied peels into 1/4-inch dice and combine them with the raisins and liquor. Pour into a small jar, cover tightly, and place in the refrigerator. The mixture will keep for months.
Choose lemons, oranges or limes that are firm to the touch.
Thinly pare the rind from the fruits, rub with pieces of orris root.
Note: Push a whole clove through each piece of peel before drying.
Place peel on a cake cooling rack which has been put onto a cookie sheet for better drying circulation. Dry in a low oven (200 degrees) until crisp.
Dried pieces can be added to your potpourri either whole or crushed.
Suggestion: A food dehydrator can be used to speed up the process.
Bonus: The peeled fruit and some of the rind can be used to make marmalade.
Cut unpeeled fruit into 1/8-inch thick slices, discarding ends. Place on large wire rack on a baking sheet and dry in oven at 170 degrees for 4 hours. Remove from oven and leave on rack to air dry. Then if you like, add glue and sprinkle with glitter or other decorations.
This makes 8 ounces, or enough to keep several pomanders curing at once. This mixture can be used over and over again. Store in a plastic bag between uses.
Select unblemished small fruit; thin-skinned oranges, apples, lemons or limes may be used.
If you plan to hang your pomander, stretch a 1/4-inch rubber band (or a strip of masking tape the same width as the ribbon) around the fruit where you want the ribbon to go. This leaves a path for ribbon. Two rubber bands, placed at right angles, can also be used. This makes four quadrants in the finished pomander. You will remove the rubber bands or tape after all cloves are placed.
Using a small, pointed tool (such as a toothpick, ice pick or darning needle), pierce the fruit and insert a whole clove. You may stud the fruit at random, or in a pattern of your choosing. Place the cloves no more than 1/4-inch apart. Be sure to finish placing the cloves on the same day you begin, to prevent the un-studded part of the fruit from rotting. You may want to wrap your fingers with masking tape or use a thimble to keep your fingers from getting quite so sore.
Sprinkle half the curing spice mixture into a bowl large enough to hold several pomanders. Place the studded fruit in the bowl, and pour the remainder of the curing spice over the fruit.
Turn pomanders daily, and sprinkle them with some of the spice mixture in the bowl.
Leave the pomanders in the spice mixture for one week. If you notice any mold or the fruit decomposing, throw it out.
Remove pomanders from the curing spice mixture. Carefully remove any accumulated spice mixture with a paintbrush. Allow them to hang and air dry for at least two to four more weeks, or until they have hardened. Simply tie raffia around them and hang them in a cool area with good air circulation. They can also be wrapped loosely in tissue paper and stored in a cool, dry place.
When the pomanders have hardened, they are cured and ready to use. You know they are ready when they sound hollow when rapped with your knuckles and feel light in weight.
Save the curing spice mixture because it can be reused again and again.
Note: In traditional pomanders, orris root is used to act as a preservative and scent enhancer.
Orris root is from the Iris bulb that has been dried and ground to a fine powder.
Some people have shown allergic reactions to orris root, so you can use sandalwood oil as an alternative preserver.
Orris root is available from herb specialty shops and potpourri suppliers. Some drug stores may carry orris root, but you can ask a pharmacist to order it for you. You can also find places that sell the powder more economically on the Internet.
Uses: You can use your fragrant pomanders in many ways. Here are a few ideas:
n Place 5 or 6 pomanders in a decorative bowl to add fragrance to an entry hallway.
n Add a pomander to your linen closet. It will add a lovely scent to your linens.
n Arrange several pomanders on a bed of lavender or rosemary to make a beautiful centerpiece.
n Tie with ribbon and hang as a decorative ornament.
To renew fragrance: Pomanders last for years and should never be discarded. The fragrance may fade slightly, and can be restored in the following manner: Dunk it quickly in a bowl of warm water and place it in a bowl of curing mixture. Then repeat the original curing process.
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