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Wednesday, December 9, 2015

How to Make & Can {French Style} Lemon Peel Syrup {Just Scraps & Sugar} ~ Citrus Series


{Note: I am excited to continue our Citrus Series this winter with this first post of the season!}

"When life gives you lemon scraps, you can make sweet syrup."

This "French inspired" lemon syrup is made from the leftover pieces of lemons we had after freezing containers of lemonade concentrates for our future summer enjoyment. Yes, with a bit of sugar, we were able to create and can this lovely syrup from the discarded peels, pith and seeds! This can be drizzled into seltzer water for a sparkling soda or water for a quick lemonade. Add it to your basic icing recipe to liven up a cake. Sweeten and flavor teas with it and anything else you can think of!


Simply toss all the leftover lemon scraps you have (peels, including the pith and even the seeds as they all contain pectin) into your crockpot and then place it in your fridge until bedtime. I am guessing you are much too tired from the project that created the scraps in the first place so that you will want to do this one tomorrow.


Now, add enough water to just cover the scraps, place the lid on your crock pot and turn it on "low". Lemons are buoyant so don't worry about the floaters as they don't need to be completely submerged. Let this slowly simmer overnight (about 6 - 8 hours) while you sleep and rest your weary, hardworking body.


Turn off the crock pot when you wake up and you can strain it once it cools down a bit (a few hours is fine as I waited until my morning routine was finished before I continued this).


To strain the juice, we lined our stock pot with a large paint strainer and dumped the cooled contents inside. You can use whatever system works for you.


Then we gathered it up like a jelly bag and let it hang over the pot in order to drain the excess liquid. Press any remaining juice through and make sure you measure your final volume of lemon water.


Next, place your measured juice in a large enough pot and bring it to a raging boil. Now that it is boiling aggressively, add your sugar.



You will need half the amount of sugar as there is liquid for this recipe. For instance, our liquid measured out at 12 cups so I added 6 cups of sugar.


Boil this mixture rapidly until it reaches a syrupy consistency or until at least 1/3 of the liquid has evaporated. This will take some time (about 20 to 30 minutes depending on your volume) and is a good moment to get all your canning gear in order. It is not necessary to stir the syrup continuously, just once in a while to make sure nothing is burning at the bottom (which it shouldn't).


When you reach your desired consistency, ladle the hot syrup into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.


Wipe the jar rims, adjust the canning lids and begin processing for 5 minutes in a boiling water bath. For more detailed step by step canning directions, visit here.


Now for the "French" part. It really is these vintage labels (as you may have guessed) and the fact that France seems to sell lots of "Sirop de Citron" (aka lemon syrup). This just seemed like something you would find on an expensive Williams Sonoma shelf. Something that I normally couldn't afford but am now making with discarded pieces. Frugal and French... how can you go wrong?! You can either glue on your labels with a glue stick, or for a stronger adhesive, print them on sticker paper. You will find our free printable {here}.


Now, of course you could also choose to make cleaning products with the peels, or even tea blends, lemon pepper or lemon extract but today was simply a syrup making day for the humble pantry.


If you enjoyed this project, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!


All the fine print. This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making MondaysModest Mom Monday'sMonday's MusingsMake Your Home Sing MondayGood Morning Mondays,  The ScoopTitus 2 TuesdaysTuesdays with a TwistRaising HomemakersThe Homesteader HopWise Woman Link UpHomestead Blog Hop Wow Us Wednesdays,  Coffee and ConversationHomemaking ThursdaysHome Sweet HomeOur Simple HomesteadAwesome Life Friday Link UpFive Star Frou Frou Friday, and Shabbilicious Friday. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. This post may contain affiliate links (which are merchant links that help to support this site at no additional cost to you if you purchase an item through them).

31 comments:

  1. I love this post and especially those labels so I'll be sending/begging for them asap. It's about time we had something with the word "citron" on it in our pantries that actually tastes good! The candied citron in the stores tastes horrible, to me anyways. On another note when I think of the times, even though long past, that I've thrown perfectly good citrus peels into the compost pile after only squeezing the out the juice I am pained by the memory. Thank you for sharing another way to use them.
    Have a lovely Wednesday!
    Toni

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    1. Thanks for sharing! I haven't had a love for the candied citron myself (though there was one recipe I just might try that doesn't sugar them but dips them in dark chocolate). I am also glad you like the labels. That is half the fun of canning I do believe! :)

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    2. Dipping them in chocolate sounds delicious! That reminds me...I just remembered a candied orange peel recipe I made a few years ago from the marthastewart.com site. It was very good as a snack, and didn't last long at all. I think the stuff from the stores is kinda like wheat bread vs. homemade; there's just no comparison.

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    3. Exactly!!! Homemade is always (well, most of the time!!) better! :)

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  2. Ooooohhh. . . this looks so yumilicious! You know it must be good if I'm making up words for it. Anything lemon seems to just call to me:)

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    1. Time to answer that call :) And I do know what you mean! Have a lovely week my friend!

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  3. Oh, dear JES! How I love your sweet posts filled with homemaking loveliness...this lemon syrup sounds and looks delicious and very fancy too...the pretty vintagey label you created adds the perfect finishing touch...ah...what a blessing it is to make yummy things for our pantries...they bless our families and others and bring such joy!
    May your day be ever so blessed...sending hugs your way!
    Kelly-Anne

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    1. Thank you for taking the time to visit Kelly-Anne... It is fun creating for the pantry, especially on pennies :) Have a lovely week!

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  4. Oh what a.thrifty and lovely idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

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    1. I must agree, thrifty is lovely! Thank you for visiting and have a lovely week :)

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  5. Ooh, lemon syrup - sign me up! What a wonderful way to add a taste of lemon to just about anything! I like the idea of cooking the lemons overnight in the crockpot too. As always, your posts are so inspirational, dear JES! Have a blessed and wonderful day :)

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    1. It is nice having the crock pot work for you while you sleep. We also have less of an energy bill at night which makes it more desirable. Thank you for taking the time to comment and may you have a lovely week! :)

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  6. Oh my goodness.... This sounds delightful! Anything lemon is a must! My oldest would love this! And frugal and french...yes please!
    Enjoy your day Jes!
    Hugs, Amy

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to share Amy! The syrup is actually very easy to make and I hope you give it a try one day! Have a lovely week :)

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  7. Looks amazing! Can't wait to give it a try! :)

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    1. Yes, and what is better, it is quite a frugal little recipe! Nice hearing from you Kelly. Have a wonderful week :)

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  8. Darling JES,
    I really couldn't miss this recipe of yours, I'm so passionate with lemon syrup, and all my family love it, bless you !
    Thank you for sharing it,
    sending so much dear love and gratitude
    Dany

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    1. Wonderful! So glad this recipe will come in handy for you! What do you use lemon syrup for I wonder. I would love to get some Italian based ideas! :)

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  9. Thank you for sharing this lovely gift. I can't wait to try this. I usually just make lemon curd and save my extra rinds in the freezer for zest.
    Blessings,
    Leslie

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    1. This would be a perfect way to use up the leftovers too! Thank you for sharing here today! :)

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  10. Wow! What a great idea for maximizing the lemons.

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    1. Thank you Vicki! I love the no-waste lifestyle and the more we can produce with what we have is sure to be a blessing! :)

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  11. This sounds delicious, but what do you use it for?

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    1. Hi there! This can be drizzled into seltzer water for a sparkling soda or water for a quick lemonade. Add it to your basic icing recipe to liven up a cake. Sweeten and flavor teas with it and anything else you can think of ;)

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  12. This is pretty awesome. I can't wait to try it. Thanks for linking up to Simply Natural Saturdays.

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  13. How would you describe the difference in flavor between the syrup made from the scraps and a syrup made from the juice? I am trying to decide if I want to do this or make candied lemon peels.

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    1. Hi Kari, unfortunately, I don't know what the difference would be since I don't have any syrup made from the juice. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

      Love, JES

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  14. Where did you find the canning jars that you used for the lemon syrup?

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    1. Hi there! You can use recycled condiment jars... I shared more information on that here:

      http://strangersandpilgrimsonearth.blogspot.com/2017/02/how-to-safely-can-using-recycled.html

      Hope this helps! :)

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