Saffron and Honey

Eat Chic

Buddha’s hand: what is it and can you candy it?

I saw this fruit in the store the other week and went a little crazy – what is it? how do you eat it? why have I never seen it before?

This is Buddha’s hand – it is a citrus variety, with finger-like segments. It has no pulp and is basically made up only of pith and zest. It has no bitter aftertaste, even after cooking, and has a delicate, almost floral, citrus flavor.

Buddha's hand

You can zest Buddha’s hand and use it in drinks, as well.  But its lack of pulp seemed to really lend itself to candying the peel, and I love candied fruit.

You’ll need:

  • one Buddha’s hand
  • 1 cup sugar + more for dusting
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 3 whole cloves

1. Cut the fruit first, in half, then divide into the finger segments, cutting lengthwise into thin strips.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often. If you have made candy before, you know that sugar gets extremely hot and is not something you want to burn yourself with so, be careful!

3. Add the cloves and the fruit peel to the syrup. Bring back up to boil and cook for 10-15 minutes – depending on the size and quantity of fruit strips – until the fruit peel is shiny and translucent and the syrup has reduced and thickened slightly.

4. Strain – you can reserve the syrup for baking or tea – and invert the candied peel onto a wax-paper lined baking sheet. Let cool slightly and toss in sugar before storing in an airtight container.

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Comments

  3. Just A Smidgen says

    You are so fortunate to find something like this in a local grocery store.. how exciting! And I think you are right, this is the perfect way to capture it’s flavor!! There would be so many uses for these all candied:)

    Reply

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