Candied Lemon Slices

5 from 1 vote

These candied lemon slices are not only easy to make and delicious, they make absolutely gorgeous decoration for cakes and treats too!

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Drying Time30

Total Time1 25

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: g

Calories: 418.3kcal

Author: Priya Maha

Ingredients

1 lemon
100 ml water
100 g sugar

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Wash the lemon and dab it dry with a kitchen towel.
Using a sharp knife or a mandoline cutter, slice the lemon into 2mm to 3mm thick slices. Remove and discard the seeds.
Fill a wide pan with the water.
Add sugar and place it on a stove.
Turn on the heat to a medium flame and stir the sugar to dissolve it.
Once the sugar is dissolved, add the lemon slices, one at a time. Make sure the slices are not overlapped.
Turn the heat to low and cover the pan.
Let the lemon slices simmer in the sugar syrup for 15 minutes.
Turn them over and cook for another 15 to 25 minutes until the centers are completely translucent.
Turn off the heat and remove the lemon slices onto a parchment-lined tray. Place each slice apart from one another.
Let the candied lemon slices dry overnight, uncovered before consuming or using for decoration.
To store the candied slices, place each slice between parchment squares. The slices are best stored in the refrigerator. Keep them in an airtight container.

Notes

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.

Variation:

To sugar-coat the lemon slices, dip them in a bowl of granulated sugar after drying them overnight.
To make caramelized lemon slices, let the slices cook in the sugar syrup until the syrup starts to caramelize. Remove from the syrup and dry as usual.

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