Candied Grapefruit Peel is so cute, sweet, chewy, juicy, and even relatively healthy!
Grapefruit skin candy is one of my most popular recipes on Tiktok (16 million views and 2.4 million likes) in 2021.
It’s pomelo season yay! Mr He bought home a huge pomelo – as large as my head~
Before I cut open this pomelo, I knew that I will get at least 40% pith and no more than 60% fruit. So I was so prepared to use its pith to make some candied pomelo peel.
Many people on Tiktok have successfully recreated my grapefruit peel candies, while some of you failed. The key to success here is patience. You will need to use medium high heat to pan fry the pith cubes for about 20 minutes. When they start to look dry, keep frying over medium heat for about 10 more minutes until they get crystalized.
But how about the yellow outer skin? Of course we are not going to waste it. You can simply microwave the pomelo/grapefruit skin for 5 minutes to get super refreshing homemade yuzu salt. Check out my yuzu salt recipe here.
Is grapefruit/pomelo peel edible?
Yes, citrus peels are safe and very healthy to eat.
According to Aileen Brabazon, a certified holistic nutritionist, citrus peels “seem to be more nutrient dense than the flesh”.
Citrus peels are packed with vitamin C, calcium and bioflavonoids. They also provide potassium, which is an essential mineral that is needed by all tissues in the body, and limonene, which has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antinociceptive, anticancer, antidiabetic, antihyperalgesic, antiviral, and gastroprotective effects.
*However, according to Best Health, if you have a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones, you’d better check with your doctor before eating citrus peels. Citrus peels contain oxalates, which interfere with your body’s calcium absorption.
How does candied grapefruit peel taste?
I am not a candy lover, but I really like the taste of homemade candied grapefruit peel and pomelo peel.
The well balanced taste of the sweetness and subtle bitterness of these chewy candies is so addictive. They actually taste very similar to gummy bears, but with a juicier burst center. One can never tell that these gummies are made from circus peel if he didn’t see the cooking process.
It’s also such an unique and meaningful experience when we keep this high fiber high vitamin C pith out of trash and turn it into something yummy.
EQUIPMENT:
INGREDIENTS LIST:
- 1 large pomelo or grapefruit (I used a pomelo as large as my head. You may need 2 grapefruits if they are small. Only need the pith.)
- 1½ cup sugar (Ideally use rock candies. You can also use regular granulated sugar.)
- 2 cup water
Step-by step INSTRUCTIONS
1. Rinse the grapefruit/pomelo. Peel off the outer yellow skin, remove the flesh of the fruit from the pith. (You can use the outer yellow skin to make yuzu salt.)
2. Cut the pith into 1-inch cubes.
3. Add the pith cubes to a large pot, fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the pith cubes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
4. Turn off the heat, transfer the pith cubes into a large bowl.
5. Wash the pith for at least 3 times to get rid of the bitter taste. Pretend you’re washing small sponge cubes: Soak the pith in cold water, squeeze out all excess water, change the water for 3 – 4 times until the water turns from green to clear.
6. Add sugar and water to a large frying pan, bring to a boil over high heat, add pith cubes to the pan.
7. Stir the pith cubes with a spatula over high heat for about 10 minutes until there is no water at the bottom of the frying pan. Use the spatula to gently press the pith cubes to squeeze out the excess water.
8. Reduce heat to medium high, keep frying for about 20 more minutes until sugar crystals start to present on the frying pan.
9. Reduce heat to medium, keep frying for 5 to 10 minutes until the pith cubes form a crystallized outer layer. When you shake the pan, you should be able to hear the rustling sound. The candied grapefruit peel or pomelo peel should feel dry to touch.
10. Transfer out to a plate, let cool to room temperature before serving.
NOTES
1. You can use the yellow pomelo/grapefruit skin to make yuzu salt.
2. To wash off the crystalized layer on the spatula and the frying pan: add plenty of water to the frying pan until all the sugar crystals are covered, bring the water to a boil over medium high heat, reduce heat to low, let simmer until all the sugar crystals are melted.
3. To store: stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 month. If the surface starts to feel damp or sticky, pour the candied grapefruit peel to a frying pan, fry over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes until the dry crystalized outer layer forms again.
My other sweet recipes you will also like:
Candied Grapefruit Peel (or Pomelo Peel)
Equipment
- 1 frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 large pomelo (I used a pomelo as large as my head. You may need 2 grapefruits if they are small. Only need the pith.)
- 1½ cup sugar (Ideally use rock candies. You can also use regular granulated sugar.)
- 2 cup water
Instructions
- Rinse the grapefruit/pomelo. Peel off the outer yellow skin, remove the flesh of the fruit from the pith. (You can use the outer yellow skin to make yuzu salt.)
- Cut the pith into 1-inch cubes.
- Add the pith cubes to a large pot, fill the pot with enough cold water to cover the pith cubes. Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- Turn off the heat, transfer the pith cubes into a large bowl.
- Wash the pith for at least 3 times to get rid of the bitter taste. Pretend you're washing small sponge cubes: Soak the pith in cold water, squeeze out all excess water, change the water for 3 – 4 times until the water turns from green to clear.
- Add sugar and water to a large frying pan, bring to a boil over high heat, add pith cubes to the pan.
- Stir the pith cubes with a spatula over high heat for about 10 minutes until there is no water at the bottom of the frying pan. Use the spatula to gently press the pith cubes to squeeze out the excess water.
- Reduce heat to medium high, keep frying for about 20 more minutes until sugar crystals start to present on the frying pan.
- Reduce heat to medium, keep frying for 5 to 10 minutes until the pith cubes form a crystallized outer layer. When you shake the pan, you should be able to hear the rustling sound. The candied grapefruit peel or pomelo peel should feel dry to touch.
- Transfer out to a plate, let cool to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
I tried it and it was so good.Can you plzzz make a cheesy pasta video?💖😭
Hi Antonia! Thanks for trying and liking it! I will have a pasta video coming soon~💖
Hi, instead of crystallizing, my cubes caramelized… is there a reason for this? Thanks!
I’m not sure what I did wrong, they ended up sort of gooey and very sticky instead of crystallised. They did harden a bit once cooled and still tasted great, just a bit messy to eat
This happened to me too but I think the reason might be using too high of a heat setting after there’s no more water in the pan. I did it on low heat and the cubes crystallized. Also keep in mind that if you decide to reduce the sugar amount (like I did), the dry outer layer may not fully form (because there isn’t enough sugar). Patience is key!
OMG im gonna try it. It looks so good. But i do now its going to be good because you made it~
I just made these and they’re so good! My mom said they were to sweet for her taste, but I love them. And making them was really fun!
Made it. Too sweet! But delicious! Next time washing it twice and adding 1/2 cup rock sugar. 😣
Yeah i used 1/3 of the sugar in the recipe. Still very sweet, but it wouldnt get dry either in the pan
I wonder if they could then be put in the dehydrator?!
Not sure what went wrong – just turned into a big blob of burnt sugar goo 😭
I had this problem too, I over cooked the sugar because I didn’t realize how hot my pan gets on the big burner especially on a gas stove top! don’t be discouraged!! Try again! It may take a few try’s when doing something new, as you build up that skill! (Can’t bake a cake without breaking a few eggs!)
I just made this! I had a much smaller pomelo so I couldn’t get as big of pieces from the pith, but the candy was still really tasty and chewy. 新年快樂 Ms Shi!
So glad you liked it Becka!! 新年快乐 兔年大吉！
Love the recipe! It seemed easy but I didn’t get quite the result I was expecting.
Not sure what I did wrong but after I lowered my heat to medium high for 20 minutes, my candies turned brown and sticky, they never got to a dry crystal point so I took them out before the sugar burnt. I laid them on a piece of foil and separated as best I could before letting them cool. Not as crunchy outside and gummy inside as yours, but still tasty. Any tips for the next batch?
I cooked and stirred them for the amount of time you said, maybe more. They crystallized but didn’t get caremlized or gooey in the middle, I can still feel the texture of the pith in the middle. How can I fix this? Thank you for the recipe it was fun.
I made it, was tasty and sweet ! . The only thing was the cubes were flat and not like a cube, and it didn’t have juice. After all the instructions, when I stir fried it, it was like the example shown in the video nor the pictures. Idk what went wrong but it was still so good!!! The look of it isn’t though 😂
Great 👍. They taste like eating straight sugar so I wouldn’t eat to much at a time. I used granulated sugar and a large yellow grapefruit.. The cook time was approximately 52 minutes. I would suggest before adding the pith cubes to the pan ensure you squeeze out as much excess water after step 5. I didn’t and I believe that is why I spent so much time cooking it, as the pith cubes had water it also had to evaporate. I didnt let them crystalize so much to maintain the pith cubes chewyness. I does take long, patience is key and stirring constantly.
FYI: the inside of the candies have a stringy like texture and feels a bit rough like eating boiled or baked pumkin, sweet potato, and yams.
Note: the candies don’t have a fruity taste they are bland. I would suggest you add some exact like strawberry. Also apparently pomelos are sweeter than grapefruit which I used, so the flavor may have been affected by that. Try using pomelo if you can. I will attempt this recipe with pomelo next time. Thank you Mrs. Shî.
I made these after trying my first pomelo (delicious). They turned out perfect! I will say that my heat source may be stronger because it took about half the of the time for the crystals to form and the outside to become crunchy. The flavor is bitter sweet and refreshingly juicy. Thank you Ms. Shi for the clear instructions and great recipe!
Took me 15 minutes until water dried, 12 more minutes on medium to get them crystallised. Set off my fire alarm twice… but it worked, wasn’t burnt, just the sugar was smoking. Quite sweet, note that once the candies start getting crystallised, don’t further cook them longer or they’ll dry out. Nice and delicious way of saving something that I would have thrown out. Good snack.
Love this! Tasted great but took me 3 tries to get it perfect. In the end, I only washed the cubes once, as I felt like washing it 3 times completely rid it of the bitter flavor and became 100% sweet. I did the last 20 minutes or so on low heat so the sugar wouldn’t burn like it did the previous times, and that created the crunchy exterior that medium heat failed to create (it was sticky and a little burnt). I also experimented with adding a little ginger to create a more complex flavor (tasted great and I’m not really a big ginger fan :). Thank you Mrs. Shi for the amazing recipe! Would definitely make again!
Thanks for these detailed tips. I’m going to try! Can you share how you added the ginger? Was it minced or chopped? And at what point do you add it in?
Mine was minced. I added it in when pan frying, though that would mean that ginger would be eventually stick onto the candy. It worked great, though I observed that some candies had a stronger ginger flavor than others.
Absolutely loved it.
Mine were kinda bland, my pomelo wasn’t fully ripe. (December in the Midwestern US isn’t exactly know for its citrus, what with the usual several feet of snow and -20F weather).
I made pomelo salt (“yuzu salt”) at the same time, so to compensate for the lack of flavor I took roughly 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar and half a tsp of the powdered pomelo zest and tossed the warm candies in that. It made such a difference. They went from tasting like they once existed next to a pomelo (the la Croix of candied fruit?) To having a lovely pomelo flavor.
What a great idea, thank you. I laughed at the Midwestern! Originally from Iowa. 🙂
Made this it was really simple and easy thanks for the recipe I’ll be making more soon!
Hi! My candies just turned into a blob of cubes all stuck together. How did you keep the candies as separate pieces? Thank you!
Mine also became a big blob and stuck together 😅
I added the pomelo peel powder to it while it was cooking thanks to this comment and I really like it. I also added the juice from half a Cara Cara orange. The pith is spongy so it really soaks up the flavor.
they’re pretty good but REALLY sweet idk what i did wrong, it’s basically like eating straight up sugar crystals. i absolutely love the texture though, crunchy outside and gooey inside, it’s so good. it’s kind of like what i hoped the texture of kohakutou would be. maybe my pomelo wasn’t ripe enough? idk
Thank you for the recipe, I made it with less sugar and water since my pomelo was way smaller than yours. I dont know why but it didn’t turned crystallized at the end, but however it was very good.