OhSojourner wrote:

> I was reading some recipes for Eccles cakes, which are a pastry from England.
>
> http://www.hwatson.force9.co.uk/cook...ing/eccles.htm
>
> They call for "currants" and "chopped mixed peel".
> Now, I assume "currants" is just another word for raisins, but I'm unsure of
> the latter ingredient. Does this imply already prepackaged preserved and/or
> candied peel, or would I actually grate the peel from fresh citrus fruit? And
> if it's preserved peel, would most supermarkets carry it? Thanks in advance
> for your help!

I have watched my mother bake her Christmas cakes dozens of times. She used
packages of dried currants that she picked up in the baking ingredients section of
the grocery store. I have also seen them in bulk stores. The chopped mixed peel
came from the same section and it came in plastic tubs with a bit of syrup in
them. She also used the preserved cherries, red and green.

I should get her recipe and her pans and take over the chore. She is getting old
and she is diabetic and shouldn't be eating that stuff. I was terribly
disappointed a few years ago when she skipped that annual baking tradition and I
thought I was going to have no home made Christmas cake. Luckily I looked sad
enough at the news that she made a batch.