Preserving Florida Citrus Fruits


 CRYSTALLIZING CITRUS FRUIT
 The preservation of fruits by saturating them with sugar and
then covering them with a coat of sugar crystals is one of the
oldest known methods of fruit preservation. Because of the
lengthy and tedious process involved in the manufacture of crys-
tallized fruit and the excessive amount of sugar used, the product
must of necessity command a high price.
 Crystallized or glac6d products are fruit impregnated with
sugar-75 to 80% of their total weight being sugar. The crys-
tallized fruit has a coating of tiny crystals, while glac6 fruit has
a dry, smooth, shining surface. The two products are prepared
in the same way, differing only in the mode of finish.
 Both are prepared by allowing the fruit to boil and stand in
a thin syrup until the fruit juice gradually diffuses out and the
sugar slowly diffuses into the fruit. The sugar syrups are slowly
built up as the fruit gradually takes up more and more of the
syrup. Care must be taken not to apply too heavy a syrup at
the beginning or at any stage of the process, as the water will be
drawn from the fruit more quickly than the sugar will be ab-
sorbed and the cell walls of the fruit will then become shrivelled
and hardened.
 Since delicate flavors will be masked by the large quantity of
sugar absorbed in the crystallizing process, citrus fruits because
of their pronounced and varied flavors are ideally suited for this
purpose.
 The fruit used should be well ripened and full flavored for high
 quality products.
 THE CRYSTALLIZING PROCESS
 For crystallizing fruit when it is desired to keep the fruit for a
 long period of time:
 1. Preparation of Fruit: All citrus fruits should be of a bright
 color, without blemish. Grapefruit, ponderosa lemon, sour orange
 and other large fruits must be grated sufficiently to break the oil
 cells and to remove blemishes. The bitter in the peel is removed
 by changing the water in boiling to make tender, the number of
 changes depending upon the individual taste.
 Kumquats and other small citrus fruits are first washed, then
 treated with a hot soda bath-one tablespoon of soda to one
 pound of fruit, covering with boiling water for 10 minutes-then
 washing the fruit in clear, cold water before boiling tender.
 2. All fruits must be cooked until tender before being put into
 first syrup. Make a syrup of equal weights of sugar and water to
 cover fruit completely; to this add fruit equal in weight to that