Candied Lemon Slices (How to Make)

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• The candied lemon slices recipe is a great way to use up lemons when you have abundance of lemons at home.
• This is an easy recipe and uses very basic and simple ingredients.
• The candy is absolutely delicious with its sweet and tangy taste and are perfect for any lemon lover.
• These translucent and glistering candied lemon slices make a really beautiful edible garnish on any treats.

Like this easy lemons recipe? Here are my other lemon desserts you might want to check out:

• Lemon Curd Cheesecake - The Ultimate Lemon Cheesecake Recipe
• Lemon Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Old Fashioned Lemon Pound Cake
• Candied Lemon Peel - How to Make
• Blueberry Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze
• Lychee Lemonade - Easy Lemon Lychee Iced Drink
• Moist Sour Cream Lemon Cake
• Butterfly Pea Lemonade
• Lemonade Popsicles
• Brown Sugar Lemonade
• How to Make Lemon Curd

📋Ingredients

• Lemon -use fresh lemons. Since we are going to use the lemons along with its skin, choose unwaxed lemons. Wash the lemons thoroughly before using.
• White sugar - this is used to make the sugar syrup in which the lemon slices are cooked. Both coarse sugar or granulated sugar will work fine.
• Water - similar to sugar, water is used to make the syrup. Use filtered water.

🧾Substitution and variations

• To make sugar coated lemon slices, dip the slices in granulated sugar after removing them from the syrup and after letting them rest overnight.
• To make caramelized lemon, let the lemon slices cook in the sugar syrup over very low heat until the syrup starts to caramelize. Once you get the caramel to a light amber hue, turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Do take note that once the sugar syrup starts to caramelize, it will darken very quickly, hence keep a close tab on the sugar syrup and the lemons after 30 minutes of cooking.

👩🏻‍🍳How to make

Preparing the lemons and making the sugar syrup

1. Wash and dab the lemons dry. Place them on a clean chopping board and slice them into thin slices, about 2mm or 3mm thick. Remove the seeds.
2. In a large saucepan or a large skillet, add water and sugar.
3. Place it on the stovetop and turn on the heat to medium heat.
4. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Cooking the lemon slices in syrup

1. As soon as the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon slices in, one at a time, making sure they do not overlap on one another.
2. Turn the heat to low.
3. Place the lid on the pan.
4. Let the lemons simmer in the sugar water (syrup) for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take off the lid and turn the lemon slices over.
5. Let them cook over low simmer again for another 15 minutes. At this stage, the lemons should have turned translucent. If not, let them simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. At this stage, keep a close eye on the sugar syrup as it may caramelize.
6. Remove the candied lemon slices, one by one, and place them on a baking sheet or parchment-lined tray. You can also place them on a wire rack first to let any excess syrup drip off, but it is not absolutely necessary. Place them apart and make sure they are not touching or overlapping as it will be difficult to separate them once the syrup sets.

• Let the candied lemons rest at room temperature (uncovered) overnight. I place them in the oven as it is the safest place to keep them uncovered. The left over syrup in the pan has a great lemon flavor from the lemon juice and rind and can be used as a simple syrup in drinks or other treats. Dilute with some water if it has thickened too much.
• To make caramelized lemon slices, let the slices cook in the sugar syrup until the syrup starts to caramelize. Once you get the caramel to a light amber hue, turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Do take note that once the sugar syrup starts to caramelize, it will darken very quickly, hence keep a close tab on the sugar syrup and the lemons after 30 minutes of cooking.

🍽️Serving & storage

• Once set, the sugar syrup on the slices would have set, however, the candied lemon slices will still remain tacky.
• If not consumed or used immediately, keep them in an air-tight container. To avoid them from sticking to each other, place each slice in between parchment paper squares.
• The candied lemon slices are best kept refrigerated in an airtight container and can last for at least 3 to 4 months.

💡Expert tips

• The key ingredient in this recipe is lemons. This recipe is best made with fresh lemons. You can use any regular lemons. Meyer lemons would work great for this recipe too.
• Since the lemons in this recipe are cooked with their skin intact, and with all the pesticides and wax being used on commercially produced lemons, it is important that they are washed well before using.
• For best results, slice lemons is with a sharp knife. You can also use a mandolin if you want. Whichever way, take note to ensure you slice them thinly, about 2mm to 3mm thick. Too thick slices will take a longer time to cook and soften, and too thin might leave you with nothing much to munch on. And, to ensure the slices cook consistently and uniformly, it is best that they are cut in the same width (uniform slices).
• Also, it is best that you remove any seeds you see in your lemon slices before cooking them. It is easier to remove the seeds while the lemons are fresh than when they are all cooked and syrupy.
• When cooking the lemon slices in syrup, it is best that they are placed in a single layer in the syrup rather than on top of one another. This will ensure they don't stick to one another and cook consistently.
• For this reason, a wide saucepan would be a better choice than a smaller one. If you are not able to find one that is wide enough such that your lemon slices end up overlapping, it is still ok. All you need to do is make sure you keep turning them around every 5 to 10 minutes so that all the slices get equal opportunity to cook on all sides.
• Also, when using a wide pan, the tendency for the sugar syrup to thicken quicker is high due to the larger area of the pan. Keeping the pan covered with a lid will avoid the syrup from thickening too soon and allow your lemon slices the necessary time to cook.

💭FAQs