To Preserve Oranges Or Lemmons

This recipe is drawn from the personal cookbook of Mary Puleston, compiled sometime before 1764. In the 18th century, preserving citrus peels in sugar was both an indulgence and a means of stretching expensive imported fruit. These preserves were enjoyed as sweetmeats, elegant table treats, and garnishes. Recipes like this one reveal both the resourcefulness and the sweet tooth of the Georgian kitchen, where sugar was a symbol of affluence. Today, this can be viewed as a distant ancestor of candied peel or marmalade, methods that allowed households to savor the luxury of citrus long after its arrival from warmer climes.

Back in Mary Puleston's day, cooks worked over open hearths or with large copper or iron pots. A sharp knife or peeler was used to pare rind; boiling was done in a 'porridge pot' over a fire. Cloth was employed to tie up the peels for boiling. A 'hook' (essentially a skewer or small utensil) was used to remove seeds. Drying was achieved by placing the sugared peels in the sun during summer, or on racks near a gentle fire in colder months. No thermometers were available, so cooks judged sugar stages by sight and texture, developing great skill through practise.