Candied Lemon Peels Belong In Your Next Fruit Salad

Candied lemon peels are a simple recipe that everyone should have on their radar — especially if you find yourself constantly needing fresh lemon juice. You can easily save your lemon (and other citrus) peels for this sweet and sour treat. The peels first need to be blanched in water to remove some of the bitterness before they can be cooked down in a batch of simple syrup. This process gives the strips a sweet sugar coating, which can be made more textured by rolling them in granulated sugar after they're done cooking. You'll often see candied lemon peels used as a garnish for a lemon-glazed pound cake or as a whimsical topper for boozy beverages. But, you can also use lemon peels to add a unique flavor and texture to your next fruit salad. 

Fruit salad, regardless of what tasty additions are included, can use a little bit of the tartness from the lemon peel. Since fruit salad is made of, you guessed it, fruit, the sweetness tends to be the dominant flavor profile. The candied lemon peels will add a subtle crunch and help balance out the cloyingness a little bit. 

There are a ton of different fruits that work well for mixing and pairing with candied lemon peels. Blueberries and strawberries are two great examples; the juicy, sweet berries are right at home with the tartness of the lemon. Though, you could also venture into the raspberries, grapes, and kiwi territory as all of these fruits could use a little balance from the citrus. 

But that's not the only possible route for customization for this recipe. Since you have to whip up a simple syrup for this recipe, you can get creative with flavoring to make it a not-so-simple syrup. For one, try making a basil simple syrup by cooking down fresh leaves with your syrup ingredients before straining them out and cooking your lemon peels in it. The basil is a natural pairing for the lemon since its slightly sweet, anise notes will juxtapose the sharp tanginess of the citrus. Alternatively, you can chop up fresh herbs and mix them with the sugar coating. When you take a bite of your salad, you'll get the sweet and tart notes of the lemon peel and the sugar, along with a savory, balancing undertone from the herby additions.