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Ingredients
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Quantity
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Pumpkin
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2 pounds (2 to 3)
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Baking soda
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1 ½ tsp
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Sugar
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2 ½
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Water
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½
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Juice and zest of lemon 9optional)
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1
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Fresh cilantro (optional)
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3 spring (3 to 4)
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Peel and seed pumpkin and cut it into 2 X 4 inch strips. Stir
baking soda into enough water to cover the strips. Add pumpkin strips and allow
to soak 12 hours. Drain and rinse pumpkin in running water. Drop pumpkin strips
into a pot of boiling water and cook until tender, but not soft. Remove the
pumpkin strips and crisp in a bowl of ice cold water, then drain. Combine sugar
with 1/2 cup water, lemon juice and cilantro in a saucepan. Heat, stirring,
until sugar is dissolved, then boil slowly, without stirring for 10 min. Add
pumpkin strips, cover the pot, and simmer for about 20 min, until syrup is
thick and strips are brittle. Spread candy out on a rack or on a wax
paper-covered tray to dry for at least 10 hours. Roll in additional sugar if desired
and store in an airtight container.
