Citron Preserve

With an abundant supply of fresh organic citrons, I could not wait to try my hand at traditional citron preserve. As usual, I consulted the earliest Cape cookbooks in the Towerwater library. I was tempted to use the recipe of Hildagonda Duckitt’s grandmother but decided instead to use a recipe that does not involve using an egg to clarify the preserve. Using eggs to clarify jam was just a bit advanced for me.

I decided to use the recipe in The South African Culinary Tradition by Renata Coetzee, published in 1977.

Citron preserve
The South African Culinary Tradition, Renata Coetzee, published in 1977

The fruit must be plump, but the peel must still be green.

Grate off the peel or peel the fruit very thinly and cut the citrons into quarters. Remove the flesh. Only the rinds are used for preserves. Soak rinds for two days in fresh water, replacing the water at least once.

Drain and plunge the citron pieces into boiling water. Cook until the rind is so soft that it can easily be pierced with a matchstick. Drain the citron pieces and press all the water out carefully.

Make a syrup of 500 g sugar for every 500 g fruit and use three to four cups (750 ml - 1 l) water for every 500 g sugar. Add three tablespoons (37,5 ml) lemon juice to every kilogram of fruit.

Place the citrons in the boiling syrup and boil rapidly until the fruit is translucent and the syrup thick and has the right heavy consistency. Skim off and pack the citron pieces neatly into sterilized jars. Fill with syrup and seal.

 

When I explored the history of citron preserve at the Cape, I discovered that it was used in several dishes in its candied and preserved form. It was used to flavour and decorate cakes, puddings and biscuits. I suppose that is why citron trees were commonplace in the agricultural landscape of both the rural and suburban Cape.

The recipes for citron preserve have been fairly consistent over the years with salt added to soaking water by Hildagonda Duckitt, and salt added to the first boiling process by A.G. Hewitt to preserve the green colour of the preserve.  

I include the recipes for citron preserve as recorded since 1890 by different historical cooks. The recipes are as found in the different cookbooks.

Citron  Konfyt
Cape Cookery Simple Yet Distinctive, A.G. Hewitt, published in 1890

The citrons must not be ripe. Pare the citrons and quarter them, using only the peel. Soak the pieces in fresh water every day for 3 days.

Boil them up in water, adding a large spoonful of salt to keep the green colour. When taken out of the water squeeze them quite dry. Prepare the syrup, weight for weight, fruit and sugar, and boil all till clear.

 

Image of Citron Preserve cooking from The South African Culinary Tradition by Renata Coetzee

Preserve (Citron)
Hilda’s “Where Is It “of Recipes, Hildagonda Duckitt, published in 1891

(From my Grandmother's Recipe Book. Dutch.)

Scrape the rind, cut in halves, take out the pulp, lay them in a basin of hot water to which a handful of salt was added; change the water the next day, then leave for two days longer in water; after that, boil them in clean water till soft enough to put a reed through. Press all the water out carefully, laying on a cloth to cool. For each pound of fruit take two of sugar; make a syrup of the sugar (one cup of water for a cup of sugar), clarify with an egg. Boil for two days on a slow fire. Keep well corked in glass bottles

Citron Konfyt
The Practical Cookery Book for South Africa, S.H. Van Tulleken, published in 1923

This is the most delicious and the prettiest of all citrus fruit konfyts, and instead of yielding a yellow konfyt, it is a beautiful green when done, and transparent like glass. Cut them in quarters or when the fruit is not too large in halves; they can also be cut in rings 1 inch thick, by cutting through the fruit and removing the pulp with a spoon, this is rather difficult, as the inside is pretty tough. Care should be taken to remove the pulp only, and not part of the peel as well. Before cutting the fruit as above, first peel very thinly, just cutting through the pores. The surface is very uneven, and it is rather a trouble to peel them nicely. Don't cut away the uneven, places—peel right over them, just cutting through the pores, and leaving the peel uneven. Now place the peel in cold water, only changing the water on the second day as for oranges. The fruit is very slightly bitter, and of such delicious flavour that it would the greatest pity to change the water too often. The object is to soak the peal. On the third day start early, and boil the peel in clean water till it can very easily be pierced with a little stick or straw – it should be very soft and transparent looking. Now weigh, allowing the same quantities of sugar and water as for oranges, also for thinning syrup. Proceed exactly as for orange konfyt.  (Use  insides scooped out for jelly); Close the bottles when konfyt is quite hot to prevent sugaring.

Citron  Konfyt

Old-Time Recipes, edited by E. Barnard, published in 1952

Citrons should be unripe and green in colour and are usually ready for preserving in March. Scrape the citrons with a piece of glass. Quarter them and take out the pulp. Lay them in basin of hot water to which a handful of salt has been added.

Next day change the water and leave for 3 days in fresh water every day, then boil in clean water until soft enough to pierce with a reed or a skewer. Squeeze the pieces dry and lay them on cloth to drain.  For 1 lb. of fruit take 2 lb. of sugar.  Make a syrup of 1 cup of water to 1 cup of sugar. Add the fruit and boil gently over a slow fire until clear. Bottle.

Other Citron Recipes

Candied Citron Peel
Cedrata - Citron Syrup

Cedrello - Citron Liqueur

Insalata Di Cedro - Citron Salad

Citron syrup for Cedrata

Cedrata is a non-alcoholic Italian sparkling soft drink made from the citron fruit ("cedro" in Italian). It has a distinctive, intense fragrance and a sweet-and-sour citrus flavour.

Citron syrup for Cedrata

the pulp of 2 citrons
sugar
water

Weigh the pulp and add to it an equal amount of sugar. I had 1kg of pulp and I added 1 kg of sugar. Let sit overnight to macerate. The next day, pour it into a saucepan and add the equal amount of water (for example, my pulp weighed 1kg, I added 1kg of sugar and 1l of water). One simply reduces or increases the amounts accordingly. The weight of the pulp is the guide.

The pulp macerating in the sugar

Bring to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely and then strain, squeezing the pulp to get more out of it, into a bottle or a jar. Discard the leftover pulp.

To make cedrata, pour some citron syrup into a glass and top up with sparkling water to taste. Optional: Add ice or mint leaves.

Because the fruit will have a different flavour/bitterness depending on how mature it is, it is best to go by taste when you first prepare this drink. A good ratio is 1 part citron syrup to 2 parts sparkling water but one can adjust it to ones taste.

Other Citron Recipes

Citron Preserve
Candied Citron Peel
Cedrello - Citron Liqueur

Insalata Di Cedro - Citron Salad

Cedrello

When I researched the different ways one can use the citron, I discovered that one can use every part of the fruit and not waste anything. After peeling the skin of the citron, one can use the pith to make citron preserve or citron salad. The peel can be used to make cedrello, the citron version of limoncello and the inside flesh can be used to make citron syrup for making cedrata.

I decided that my citron celebration would not be complete without a bottle or two of cedrello.

Cedrello

Ingredients:

3 to 4 large citrons
1 (750 ml) bottle vodka

For the simple syrup:

2 cups sugar
2 cups of water

Wash the organic citrons and pat them dry.

Pour the vodka into a large glass jar. Carefully zest the citrons with a zester or vegetable peeler so there is no white pith on the peel. Use only the outer part of the rind. The pith, the white part underneath the rind, is too bitter and will spoil your liquor. Add the lemon zest directly to the jar as it is zested.

Cover the jar and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 weeks and up to forty days in a cool dark place. The longer it rests, the better the taste will be.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Cook until thickened, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Let the syrup cool before adding it to the vodka mixture. Strain the mixture, discarding the citron zest. Once the syrup is cool pour it into the jar with the vodka. At this stage you can add the simple syrup gradually to the citron infusion to adjust the cedrello to your taste. Allow to rest for another ten to forty days.

After the liquor has rested for the second time, pour into bottles. The cedrello is best chilled before drinking.

On the left is a classic cedrello and on the right a cedrello martini

Although I was very careful in removing the zest of the citrons the result had a bitter undertone. Next time, I will use a zester instead of a vegetable peeler to see if it impacts the flavour of the cedrello. It is a nice aromatic aperitif and will make an interesting mixer for cocktails.

Other Citron Recipes

Citron Preserve
Candied Citron Peel
Cedrata - Citron Syrup

Insalata Di Cedro - Citron Salad

Citron Preserve, soul food from the heart

 (Loosely translated into English from my blogpost Siterkonfyt: Hartskos uit die hart uit)

Recently, I took a basket of fresh fruit from the garden to a friend down the road for her to use in preserve making. She makes the most delicious homemade preserves and jams which she then sells. After unpacking the basket of fruit in her kitchen, she returned to the sitting room with a jar of preserve asking, “Do you know what this is?”

I immediately recognised the soft green of the Citron Preserve. My heart skipped a beat as nostalgic memories of this exquisite preserve welled up. In South Africa, we have iconic preserves that are integral to our indigenous cultural and culinary traditions. Green figs, Wild Watermelon (Makataan) and Cucumis Anguria (Agurkie) to mention but a few.  

Citron Preserve is a delicacy on its own. I can distinctly recall, over a period of decades, when I ate it and who made it. I recall Jean Visser, who was married to the restoration architect Dirk Visser, and her serving her homemade Citron Preserve at the large yellowwood table in their home Vredenburg in Rosebank, Cape Town.

When my friend presented me with the jar of Citron Preserve with the words, “This is to say thank you from the bottom of my heart”, I immediately understood. Citron Preserve is only made for the love of it and its indulgent pleasure. Citron Preserve takes time. Some recipes require the thick peel to be steeped in water for four days.

Still Life with Bowl of Citrons, Giovanna Garzoni, Italy circa 1645, J. Paul Getty Museum

The Citron (Citrus medica) is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick peel. It is also one of the progenitors from which all citrus fruits evolved, through either natural or human intervention. It is therefore the forerunner of the citrus fruits we know today.

Photo of citrons in copper pot, Spys en Drank, Renata Coetzee, 1977

To prepare Citron Preserve is akin to bottling the history of the evolution of citrus. I researched the history of Citron Preserve-making in South Africa. The three earliest recipes I could find were clearly very familiar to the public when they were first published. It is most likely that they were already well known in the 1700’s or earlier, at the Cape.

Recipe from “Cape Cookery. Simple Yet Distinctive – Hewitt, A G, 1890”

“Citron Konfyt

The Citrons must not be ripe. Pare the Citrons and quarter them, using only the peel. Soak the pieces in fresh water every day for 3 days.

Boil them up in water, adding a large spoonful of salt to keep the colour. When taken out of the water squeeze them quite dry. Prepare the syrup, weight for weight, fruit and sugar, and boil all till clear.”

The recipe is short and sweet and not for beginners. Clearly, it was assumed that if you were going to tackle Citron Preserve, you were well versed in Preserves and would know instinctively how to proceed.

 Recipe from “Di Suid-Afrikaanse kook-, koek- en resepteboek – Dijkman, E J, 1891”

“Citron Preserve, No.1

Peel thinly and weigh off. Cut into four parts. Steep in cold water for two days replacing the cold water twice daily. On the third day place in boiling water and cook until soft. Place outdoors on a cloth to dry. Take as much sugar equal in weight to the Citrons. (Make the syrup equal parts water and sugar). Scoop and pour until sugar well dissolved. Add the Citrons and simmer until soft and clear. Bottle as for other preserves once well cooled."

Recipe from “Hilda's diary of a Cape housekeeper – Duckitt, H J, 1902”

“Mrs. Breda’s Citron Preserve. —Citrons preserved in the following way make a nice dish for dessert now that fresh fruits are scarce. It is Mrs. Breda’s recipe, and is best done in two days. To every half-dozen green citrons you will require their weight in sugar before scraping.

Pare or scrape the citrons, using a medium-sized grater, then lay them whole in a deep bowl, and after sprinkling 2 or 3 ozs. of salt over them, cover the citrons with a plate to keep them from rising, and pour into the bowl boiling water sufficient to cover the fruit.

The next day halve or quarter the citrons, taking out the pulp carefully (as this being bitter is never used), lay them in your copper preserving-pan, sprinkle a handful of salt over them, and cover them with cold water. Set the pan on the fire to boil till the fruit is soft enough to pierce with a reed or blunt skewer. Then take the pieces of citron out with a spoon, and put them into very cold water for half-an-hour, after which squeeze them as dry as you can without breaking. Now put your fruit into the preserving-pan and cover with sugar, same weight as the fruit, and measuring the sugar (after being weighed) with a cup, take in proportion 4 cups of water to 6 cups of sugar, let it melt and boil it up slowly, setting aside for next day when it should boil—say 4 or 5 hours—till clear and syrup nice and oily.

The citron preserve we make can be candied, but we keep it in jars in syrup, and drain it off a few days before we want to use it, roll it in dry sugar, and dry in a cool oven or on a cake-tray in the sun and air. We do the green figs in the same way.”

Mrs S van H Tulleken describes the Citron, or Citron preserve, in “Die Praktiese Kookboek vir Suid Afrika, 1922” as follows. “It is the most delicious and beautiful of all citrus preserves. Instead of yellow as for other citrus preserves, it is a beautiful green and as transparent as glass”. For me, this is a perfect description of Citron Preserve.

Mrs S van H Tulleken was a lecturer in Domestic Science. She was a judge at agricultural shows that also gave demonstrations. She was regularly awarded prizes at agricultural shows for her jams, cakes, tarts and preserves.

Anyone who may remember those agricultural shows will know just how competitive they could be. I become nostalgic when I think back to the agricultural shows of the town of Worcester in the Cape, and the produce on display in the great halls near the Kleinplasie outdoor museum. The halls were cathedrals of produce of the highest quality that the region could produce. Here it was all about quality, presentation and taste. Therefore, when Mrs S van H Tulleken describes Citron Preserve as the most delicious and beautiful of all citrus preserves and jams, it is by no means a lighthearted assessment.

To enjoy the green-coloured glassy preserve on a fresh slice of home-baked bread is the ultimate taste sensation. Real soul food from the heart.

Siterkonfyt, hartskos uit die hart uit