Ingredient: Candied Peel (Succade)
Category: Fruit
Season: All
Succade is the candied peel of any of the citrus species, especially from the Citron or citrus medica which is distinct with its extra thick peel, also the taste of the inner rind of the citron is less bitter than those of the other citrus.
The term applies also to the peel, root, or even entire fruit or vegetables like parsley, fennel and cucurbita, which have bitter taste and are boiled with sugar to get the very special "sweet and sour" outcome
Name
The word Succade or as it was called in Latin Succidus, has according to some been derived from from the ancient word Sucker for a lollipop, or because its being sucked in mouth by the youth.
According to others the word "succade" may come from the Hebrew word sukkah, the temporary booth that Jews build on the holiday of Sukkot. The citron, known in Hebrew as an etrog, is one of the symbolic Four Species used on the holiday. After Sukkot, some Jews candy the etrog or make marmalade from it.
While the word Succade was widely used in Germany, it was called by the French Glacé fruit, and is also known as Candied fruit or crystallized fruit, it has been around since the 14th century.
Production
The citron fruits are halved, de-pulped, immersed in seawater or ordinary salt water to ferment for about 40 days, the brine being changed every 2 weeks; rinsed, put in denser brine in wooden barrels for storage and for export.
After partial de-salting and boiling to soften the peel, it is candied in a strong sugar solution.
The candied peel is sun-dried or put up in jars for future use.
Candying is done mainly in England, France and the United States.
The continual process of drenching the fruit in syrup causes the fruit to become saturated with sugar, thereby preventing the growth of spoilage microorganisms.
Fruits which are commonly candied include: dates, cherries, pineapple, and ginger.
Succade is sometimes used in cakes, as a filling for pound cake, oliebol, plum pudding, florentines, fruitcake or ontbijtkoek.
Succade is also added to raisin bread.
Succade is often combined with currants, raisins and cherries.
Candied citrus peel is often coated in chocolate and eaten as confectionery.
Recipes:
Recipes vary from region to region, but the general principle is to boil the fruit, steep it in increasingly strong sugar solutions for a number of weeks, and then dry off any remaining water.
The high sugar content of finished Glacé fruits inhibits the growth of microorganisms.
Glacé fruits will keep for a number of years without any additional methods of preservation.
Fruits that hold up well to being preserved in this manner include: cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, pears, star fruit, pineapple, apples, oranges, lemons, limes and clementines.
Angelica is rarely seen in western cooking except as a Glacé fruit.
If it is not found at your local supermarket, you will probably be able to get some at a specialist food shop or delicatessen, but you'd better discard any you have had for as long as a year.
To give your cake that five-star flavour, go for whole candied peel. |