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Buddha's Hand Citron : Distracting myself with rare fruit

My son's fourth grade teacher sent him on a mission... to the local produce section.  She had explained to the class that grocery stores will often stock up on different and interesting fruit during the days before Thanksgiving and that the best day to shop would definitely be Monday.  
So, in spite of the fact that I really don't have much of a voice, we just had to get going! 

This is what we took home with us.  Yellow tentacles reaching in all different directions, small and bumpy.  But with a really pleasing lemony smell.  It looked innocent enough. This was my introduction to the Buddha's Hand, a special kind of citrus fruit that is valued not only for its appearance but also for its sweet and flavorful rind.  


Of course we didn't bother to Google what we could do with it until we actually had it home and were busy observing it on the counter.  

We learned that our Buddha's Hand version was considered to be the open type, with fingers splayed in lots of different directions.  Greater worth is placed on the ones where the fingers close together in a more prayerful attitude.  

We also learned that you don't "juice" the Buddha's Hand.  It is only made up of PITH.  Which is the white part.   This momentarily disappointed my son, until I explained to him that we could make CANDY with it!  After some additional research, here is the process that we decided to follow: 

Step 1: As with any other produce item, it is a good idea to wash it first. 


Step 2: Cutting.  There were two schools of thought on how to cut a Buddha's Hand.  The first was crosswise so that you might achieve layers of little flower shapes.  The second was in strips so that you could maximize all of those fingers.  


Step 3:  Blanching until the pieces turn translucent, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Take some care to make sure that you don't make the pieces too soft. A crunchier candy will be more appealing.  After this process is complete, you should take care to dry your fruit.  


 Step 4: Coating the pieces with sugar.  I made a simple syrup solution, cooled it and then laid it next to a bowl of granulated sugar.  My son and I were ready to start our candy-making assembly line!



Step 5: Tongs may or may not be the best tool for the job. At some point, we opted for fingers. 










Step 6:  Pour some additional granulated sugar over of the pieces and let dry at least overnight. Some people recommend a food dehydrator for this step.










To Be Continued:  I suspect that these little candied pieces would be great in a cupcake!
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