Candied lemon peel (candied lemon peel, candied lemon sauce, raw?, organic?)

Candied lemon peel, also called candied lemon peel, can be eaten raw as a sweet, but is more commonly used in baked goods. Organic quality is strongly preferred.

Use in the kitchen

What is candied lemon peel? Candied lemon peel, citron peel, succade or succade are all terms for one and the same thing, namely candied lemon peel . Traditionally, the thick peel of the citron ( Citrus medica ) is candied, but the peel of "normal" organic lemons ( Citrus limon ) will also do.

Candied lemon peel is yellow to green and has a sweet and sour, slightly bitter taste that is suitable for flavoring or as a baking spice ^1. Especially in the run-up to Christmas, candied lemon peel is an essential ingredient in baked goods such as stollen, gingerbread or fruit bread (e.g. banana bread with mango and ginger ). Candied fruit peel can also be used as a topping for soy yogurt, vegan pudding, fruit salad or in muesli. The candied fruit peel, sliced into fine strips, gives finished desserts the finishing touch. Candied lemon peel is also used as a vegan praline filling or confectionery. In oriental cuisine, candied lemon peel is also used in savory dishes, e.g. in combination with rice .

If you have large pieces of candied lemon peel available, you can freeze them in a freezer bag and then crush them to avoid unnecessary sticking. When chopping with a knife, you can put absorbent material such as flour underneath, if this is part of the recipe. This will reduce sticking. If the candied lemon peel is hard after baking, it may be that the product used was too old or the package was left open for too long. The best thing to do is to make candied lemon peel fresh yourself when needed.

Despite the slightly sour note, the sugar content of candied lemon peel should not be underestimated. Candied fruits usually contain a lot of sugar (over 65% sugar content). Make sure to consume in moderation.

What can you use instead of candied lemon peel? If you don't want to use ready-made products, don't have any candied lemon peel at home, or just don't like candied citrus fruits, you can use other baked fruits such as dates, dried figs or candied ginger as a substitute. These ingredients are rich in fructose and provide the desired aromatic sweetness. For a hint of lemon, simply add a little grated organic lemon peel.

Is candied lemon peel raw? Conventional candied lemon peel is most likely not a raw food product, as the lemon peel is heated during the candying process.

Your own preparation

How can I make candied lemon peel? Candied lemon peel is a bit time-consuming, but it is definitely worth it. You need the peel of untreated organic lemons, sugar, honey or vegetable sweetener and a container that seals well. Traditionally, citrons are used. These have significantly more mesocarp (albedo), the white, soft part of the peel, which is why the "yield" is greater at the end. In addition, the mesocarp of citrons tastes less bitter than that of lemons.

Conventional preparation with sugar: Clean the fruit peel, remove any damaged areas and cut into the desired size (e.g. cubes). Cover with water (some recommend salt water), bring to the boil and pour off any remaining water. Repeat this process once or twice to wash out some of the bitter substances. In the next step, weigh the peels and simmer with the same amount of sugar and a little water on a low heat for about an hour until the peels are translucent. Then remove and leave to dry on a cake rack lined with baking paper. This drying process, which often takes several days, can be accelerated by drying the candied lemon peel in the oven at a low temperature. After drying, place in a screw-top jar for storage and refrigerate if necessary. As a sugar-free, more tooth-friendly alternative, you can use 1:1 xylitol or other sugar substitutes instead of sugar.

Honey preparation: In this variant, honey or vegetable sweeteners such as agave syrup or apple syrup are used instead of sugar. There is also no need to boil them down. After cleaning the fruit peels, dice them and place them in a suitable container with sweetener. Cover and leave to steep in a cool place (refrigerator, cellar) for a few days to weeks.

Tip for collecting peels: If you want to collect peels from used lemons for preparation, you can store them in a sealable container in the refrigerator after using the fruit until you have enough for your candied lemon peel production.

Note: You can use the same procedure with orange peel (actually bitter orange peel). This will give you candied orange peel (aranzini). In contrast to candied lemon peel, the aroma is similar to orange, but the composition and application area are comparable.

Vegan recipe for lemon cookies

Ingredients: 60 g almond butter, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp rapeseed oil, 2 tbsp almond milk, 40 g sugar, 1 tsp baking powder (or better cream of tartar ), 130 g flour, 50 g candied lemon peel (organic).

Preparation: Mix all the wet ingredients with a whisk. Stir in the sugar and baking powder. Add the flour and knead into a dough using a food processor or hand mixer. Use a teaspoon to place small heaps on a baking tray and press a little candied lemon peel into each biscuit. Bake the biscuits in a preheated oven at 200 °C top and bottom heat for approx. 15 minutes.

Vegan recipes with candied lemon peel can be found under the note: " Recipes that have the most of this ingredient ".

Purchasing - Storage

Candied lemon peel (Citronat, Sukkade, Succade) is available in different qualities and under many names and brands in supermarkets such as Coop, Migros, Denner, Volg, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe, Edeka, Hofer and Billa . Since this is the peel of lemons which, if they come from conventional cultivation, are treated with harmful, chemical-synthetic pesticides and coating agents, we recommend buying organic products containing organic lemons. Organic candied lemon peel should be found in well-stocked organic supermarkets (e.g. Alnatura, Denn's Biomarkt ), in organic shops or health food stores.

Candied lemon peel (candied lemon peel cubes), packaged in 100 g bags, is usually available in the bakery department all year round, but often only around Advent and Christmas. You can also order candied fruit online. Here you can find it not only in chopped form (mainly cubed), but also as intact, candied peel halves.

Especially in industrially produced products, in addition to sugar and glucose-fructose syrup, traces of preservatives (such as potassium sorbate, sodium disulphite), acidifiers (such as citric acid) and sometimes table salt can often be found.

The availability of candied lemon peel varies depending on the size of the store, catchment area, etc. You can find our recorded food prices for the DA-CH countries above under the ingredient image - and by clicking you can see their development at various suppliers.

Storage tips

Because candied lemon peel is so soluble in water, it should be stored closed and in a dry place. Once opened, candied fruit pieces harden more quickly. However, they generally have a long shelf life, which is due to the high sugar content and the resulting low water activity. If stored dry, candied lemon peel will last between four months and two years, depending on the manufacturer.

Ingredients - Nutritional values - Calories

Candied lemon peel has a calorie content of 292 kcal per 100 g. Carbohydrates make up the largest proportion at 72 g/100g, of which 70 g is sugar. The very high sugar content is comparable to that of dried, sweetened cranberries (73 g/100g) and agave syrup (68 g/100g). Proteins and fat are barely present at 0.4 g/100g each. ²

Candied lemon peel is rich in manganese (7 mg/100g; 350% of the daily requirement). Unpeeled hemp seeds (7.6 mg/100g) and pine nuts (8.8 mg/100g) have similar values. Candied ginger (0.73 mg/100g) has much less manganese. At 60 mg/100g , cloves contain even more of the trace element, but only small amounts are used. ^2,3

100 g of candied lemon peel contains 0.1 mg of vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine) (7% of the daily requirement), a similar amount to dried barberries (0.1 mg/100g) and dried figs (0.11 mg/100g). Candied ginger contains less (0.06 mg/100g), and dates contain slightly more ( Deglet Nour variety with 0.16 mg/100g; Medjool variety with 0.25 mg/100g). Pistachios contain particularly high amounts of the vitamin, with 1.7 mg/100g. ^2,3

Sukkade contains 40 mg/100g of calcium (5% of the daily requirement). The content is comparable to that of Deglet Nour dates (39 mg/100g) and raisins (50 mg/100g). Poppy seeds contain 1438 mg/100g, which is almost 36 times as much calcium. ^2,3

Some of the secondary plant compounds found in lemon peel are essential oil (consisting of citric acid, terpineol, pinene, limonene and citral, among others), phenolic acids (ferulic acid, caffeic acid, sinapic acid) and flavonoids (flavones, flavonols, flavanones such as hesperidin, hesperetin and neohesperidin). ^{4,5, 6,7}

You can find all the ingredients of candied lemon peel, the coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients in our nutrient tables. In the article Nutrients explained you will get a detailed insight into the topic.

Health effects

We were unable to find any scientifically proven information about the health benefits of candied lemon peel. We suspect that these are partly comparable to those of raw lemon peel, which is why we report on them below. However, it is likely that the nutritional value changes as a result of candied lemon peel and that the levels of some ingredients are reduced.

Citrus peels are rich in phenolic acids (such as ferulic acid and caffeic acid) and contain higher amounts of these than peeled lemons . In addition, flavonoids (such as flavones, flavonols, flavanones, including hesperidin, hesperetin and neohesperidin), which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, have been identified in lemon peels. ^6,7,8 Flavonoids also have potential anti-cancer effects and could be used in the prevention of infectious and degenerative diseases. ⁸ The flavanone hesperidin is associated with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic effects as well as antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. ⁹

Other health-promoting substances in citrus peels include essential oils and pectin. ^6,8 Pectins are plant polysaccharides and are indigestible dietary fibers for humans. They can lower lipid and cholesterol levels as well as blood sugar and insulin levels, delay gastric emptying (e.g. in cases of diarrhea) and help fight cancer. ^6,10 Pectin ingested with food can also bind metal ions, especially lead ions, thereby reducing their retention in the body and weakening their toxic effects (e.g. in cases of heavy metal poisoning). ¹⁰

You can find out more about the effects of raw lemon peel in the corresponding article. You can read about the effects of lemons (without peel) and lemon juice on health in the respective articles.

Dangers - Intolerances - Side effects

Crystal sugar (sucrose) and/or glucose-fructose syrup (corn starch syrup) are mainly used to make candied lemon peel. High sugar consumption is associated with a variety of diseases that can lead to serious complications. These include obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. ¹¹ Due to the high sugar content, excessive consumption of candied lemon peel is not recommended.

Sugar is also the main cause of tooth decay. Consumed sugar feeds the bacteria in plaque. These convert the fermentable sugar into organic acids that can dissolve tooth minerals and ultimately cause tooth decay. A number of studies indicate that reducing the frequency of sugar consumption has a significant impact on the development of tooth decay. ¹² In addition, after consuming products containing sugar, you should rinse your mouth with water and brush your teeth thoroughly.

It is not just sugar that is harmful to oral health and teeth, but also the citric acid contained in lemons, which attacks tooth enamel. After eating or drinking acidic foods, it is also recommended to rinse the mouth with water to dilute the acid and speed up the replacement of dissolved minerals. Only then should you brush your teeth without applying too much pressure, as this will cause the upper layers of the teeth to wear down more. ¹³

Citrus fruits can trigger allergies. This is usually oral allergy syndrome with discomfort and itching in the mouth and throat area. Skin reactions can also appear two days after consumption. Before doing an epicutaneous test or allergy test, it is important to clarify whether it is fructose intolerance or whether preservatives have triggered the allergy. ¹⁴

Ecological footprint - animal welfare

The ecological footprint of a food depends on various aspects, such as cultivation method (conventional/organic), seasonality, country of origin, transport and, if applicable, packaging. According to the Danish climate database Concito, the CO ₂ footprint of raw lemons is 0.64 kg CO ₂ eq/kg. ¹⁵ We found no value for the CO ₂ footprint of candied lemon peel. However, we suspect that it is larger due to additional processing.

According to a Dutch study (2011), the water footprint of raw lemons is 642 litres of water per 1 kg of lemons. ¹⁶

For detailed explanations of various sustainability indicators (such as ecological footprint, _CO2 footprint, water footprint), see our article: What does the ecological footprint mean?

Conventional agriculture often uses synthetic pesticides and herbicides to control unwanted plants and insects. These have been proven to have a negative impact on the environment and affect important pollinators, birds and mammals. The harmful pesticides are often found in the end product, as is the case with conventional lemons labelled as untreated (this only means that they have not been treated after harvest). ^{17 ,18} Accordingly, when buying lemons and lemon products such as candied lemon peel, you should not only pay attention to the country of origin and the shortest possible transport routes in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to choose organic products in order to protect biodiversity and your own health. The use of such pesticides is prohibited in organic farming.

Worldwide distribution - cultivation

The center of origin (gene center) of edible citrus fruits is believed to be in the southeastern Himalayas in the area of Assam, northern Myanmar and western Yunnan. ¹⁹ There are different assumptions about the origin of the lemon ( Citrus limon ). Some speculate that lemons arrived in India relatively late, while others believe that they were mentioned in early Sanskrit texts from around 800 BC. Still others have suggested southern China or Upper Burma as the area of origin. ²⁰ Today, the main growing areas for lemons (and limes ) are in India, Mexico, China, Argentina and Brazil. In Europe, Spain is the most important, followed by Italy at some distance. ²¹

The original distribution area of the citron ( Citrus medica ), which is traditionally used to make candied lemon peel due to its thick mesocarp (white layer of the peel; also called albedo), extends from the western central Himalayas to Myanmar. Citrus medica grows mainly in subtropical areas. ²²

Candying was actually a preservation method to extend the shelf life of fruit. ²³ Candying fruit leads to a reduction in water activity through osmotic dehydration (see the following chapter "Industrial production"), which slows down the decomposition reactions and thus extends the shelf life of the fruit. ²⁴

Industrial production

Candying is a slow process based on osmosis. Simply put, it involves replacing the water in the fruit with sugar.

This process is called osmotic dehydration. In osmotic dehydration, there is a simultaneous flow of water from the material into the hypertonic solution (a solution with many dissolved substances) and of dissolved substances from this solution into the material. Osmotic dehydration is widely used in food preservation because it lowers the water activity of fruit and vegetables. Sugar syrup is usually used for fruit and salt or brine for vegetables. In the case of candied lemon peel production, the water from the lemon peel flows into the solution (unfortunately, some ingredients such as minerals, vitamins and fruit acids also flow along with the water), while sugar penetrates the peel at the same time. ²⁵

Beforehand, the lemon peel to be candied is washed and cut or diced if required. The osmotic treatment, i.e. the candied lemon peel, takes place in a heated sugar solution. More sugar must be added at regular intervals to maintain the concentration. Once the process is complete, the dehydrated product, candied lemon peel, is obtained. ²⁵

Candying not only changes the structural and sensory properties of food, but also its nutritional value. To produce candied fruits with a lower energy and sugar content and thus a lower glycemic index, sugar (sucrose) or glucose-fructose syrup can be replaced with sugar substitutes such as sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol or erythritol. ²⁴

Further information

The lemon (Citrus limon ) belongs to the genus Citrus within the Rutaceae family. The species Citrus limon is the result of a cross between citron ( Citrus medica ) and bitter orange ( Citrus aurantium ). ²⁰

Other related species of the genus Citrus are: lime ( C. latifolia and C. aurantiifolia ), orange ( C. sinensis ), mandarin ( C. reticulata ), clementine ( C. clementina ), pomelo ( C. maxima ), pomelo ( C. grandis ) and grapefruit ( C. paradisi ). Raw lemon and orange peel are also used in cooking.

Whether the citrus plants mentioned are valid species in the botanical sense is controversial. Some are of the opinion that there are only three valid basic species of the genus Citrus, namely citron ( C. medica ), mandarin ( C. reticulata ) and grapefruit ( C. maxima ) and that the others are introgressive hybridizations of the basic species. Others include Mexican lime ( C. aurantiifolia), Micrantha ( C. micrantha ) and Citrus halmii in addition to the three species mentioned above in the list of basic species. ^26,27 Since most of the plants just mentioned are hybrids, i.e. new plants resulting from crossing different species, an "x" is actually needed in the botanical name between the genus name and the species name, e.g. Citrus × limon for lemon.

Flawless citrons ( Citrus medica ), called etrog, are used together with myrtle, willow and palm branches as a festive bouquet (lulav) during the seven-day Jewish festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), which takes place between mid-September and mid-October. ²⁸

In Buddhism, the citron variety called Buddha's Hand is used in altar offerings. ²⁹ Can Buddha's Hand be candied? This variety is ideal for candied fruit due to its high mesocarp content and little to no pulp.

Due to the lack of availability of citrus fruits, an imitation candied lemon called Kandinat T was produced from green tomatoes in the GDR. ³⁰

Alternative names

Candied lemon peel is known as candied lemon peel or citron. What is succade? Succade or succade is a synonym for candied lemon peel.

In English, candied lemon peel is called candied lemon peel or succade.