So here in Cyprus it is lemon season, and we have these big, fat, juicy lemons. So, i'm sitting here, looking at these lovely lemons, and a thought occurs to me that we can be a bit canny, and make some lovely treats, using EVERY part of this zesty fruit. So here goes :)
First up is lemon Glyko...or spoon sweet. This is a traditional sweet here in Cyprus (nothing diet about it as it is fruit preserved in a thick syrup)
First get your lemons together, give them a good wash, and then remove the zest (the yellow part) either by grating (which i personally can;t do without damaging my hands) or by using a sharp knife, just peel a very thin layer off the top of the lemon. (first super tip- you need to find fat lemons with thick skin- this will not work with thin skinned lemons!).
Then score the lemon around (in segments) and peel off the white 'pith"..this is what you will be using to make your spoon sweet. You can choose to make thick segments or thin (we prefer thin) but if you make the thick ones, you can roll it into an attractive shape before you put it into the syrup.
Put your lemon peel into a saucepan and weigh (you want to know how much lemon peel you have as you will need the number in order to work out how much sugar to use. It is basically 1:1 ration between fruit and sugar, and then add 1.5 cups water). Then fill up the pan with water and boil the peel for 5 minutes... and repeat twice more (this is to get rid of the bitterness). DO NOT throw away this water- we will be using it later for another recipe! When you have finished this part, drain the water, and now we get on to the final syrupy part :) So now, armed with the weight of the fruit, add an equal amount of sugar, and one and a half cups of water and boil until the syrup sets..this will be around 1 and a half hours. leave to cool and then put into a jar. They are ready to eat immediately :)
Onto recipe no 2...remember all that lemony water that we had left?Well, i'm going to let you into a little secret- how to make Mama Michaelides' Moonshine (or Posh Squash as it was nicknamed at a party i went to last night!). You need 1 gallon (or 4 litres) of this water- if you don't have enough lemony water, just top it up with normal water, add the sugar (2 kilos) and mix until it dissolves, then cool and put into your container (i use one of those 5 gallon barrels that we usually use for water). Once the water is cooled, add the juice of 6 lemons, raisins (225g), and the yeast (30g-i use 3x 11g packets). Seal the top by placing cling film over the top of the barrel (with some pin pricks in it-the yeast will emit gas, if you don't prick the clingfilm, it will pop!) and leave in a cool place for 2 weeks to do it's stuff. After that time, you can rack it into your bottles although it will need time to clear to the fine sunshiney yellow stuff :) Please note you will have to strain the liquid before you bottle it to get all the 'bits' out).
