How to Make Confiture Peau Chadeque

This came in as a Facebook request to make Confiture Peau Chadeque (Haitian Grapefruit Jam). It brings back good memories of my childhood in Haiti. So I asked my mom who makes the best Haitian everything and she wasted no time to make some. It’s simple to make. It just takes quite a bit of time.

So we started out by peeling and juicing each grapefruit. Be sure to peel thinly to avoid cutting into the meat and leave the white membrane in tact. Squeeze out all the juice and strain. You can use a citrus squeezer to cut this time in half.

Tip: If you’ve ever had a grapefruit, you know that it’s pretty bitter. There’s actually a neat trick to reduce the bitterness by soaking the flesh in salt water overnight, then rinsing it with water before cooking. For this recipe, we used a different method to get rid of the bitterness – more on that in a bit.

Using your fingers, pick the edges of the skin and remove the core of the grapefruit, leaving it with an empty shell. Repeat this step for each grapefruit.  Combine the shells in a pot filled with water. Let it boil over high heat and keep it uncovered. After letting it cook for about 20-30 mins, remove it from the heat.

Drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the excess water. Repeat this step 4 to 5 times to remove the bitterness. Next time, we’ll use the soaking method.  

Add the cooked shells back into a fresh pot of water. Add cinnamon sticks, sugar, ginger, and a dash of salt. Let it cook, uncovered, over medium-high for approximately an hour. Bring to a rolling boil. Stir constantly.

Reduce the heat. Reserving the liquid, remove the softened, cooked shells and place them into a separate mixing bowl. We’ll come back to the pot. Mash the shells into clumps. Add the clumps back into the pot of water. Let it cook for 30-45 minutes. Add anise, vanilla, and almond extracts. Stir constantly. Turn off the heat and let it cool down. Serve with bread.