Making Candied Orange Peel is really easy! This recipe makes pretty strips of tender, sugared rind that are only mildly bitter. You can eat them as candy, or chop them up and add them to breads and cakes. I made them to use in bread.
I recently joined the Mellow Bakers group, and the first bread we made was Hot Cross Buns. This bread uses candied orange or lemon peel. I had a bunch of oranges and had seen a recipe in my canning adventures, so I decided rather than buy candied orange or lemon peel, I would make some.
The week before I planned to bake the Hot Cross Buns, I set out to make the candied orange peel.
Candied Orange Peel
The recipe is in The Joy of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves by Linda Ziedrich.
Ingredients:
4 medium-size oranges
1 3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
Directions:
If the fruits aren’t home-picked or labeled organic, put them in a colander in the sink and pour boiling water over them to remove any wax. Scrub them well.
Cut the orange peels into quarters without cutting through the flesh.
Remove the peels (save the peeled oranges for another use or just eat them like I did). Put the peels into a large nonreactive saucepan
and cover them with water.
Bring the contents to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer the peels until they are tender, about 30 minutes.
Drain the peels and let them cool.
Using a grapefruit spoon (or a knife), carefully scrape most of the pith off the peels. Cut them into thin strips.
In the saucepan, combine 1 1/4 cups of the sugar and the water. Over medium heat, gently stir the contents until the sugar dissolves.
Add the peel. Cook the peel in the syrup over low heat until the peel is partially translucent, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Raise the heat and boil the contents, stirring,
until the syrup reaches 230 degrees F on a jelly thermometer.
Remove the pan from the heat and let the peels cool in the syrup for 30 minutes.
Spread the remaining 1/2 cup sugar on a dinner plate. Pour the contents of the pan into a strainer held over a bowl. Drop the drained peels onto the sugared plate.
With a fork, toss the peels in the sugar. Let them cool.
Store the peels in an airtight tin or jar in a cool, dark, dry place. The peels will keep well for at least a year.
These candied orange peels taste really good. They were a little bit bitter to begin with, but I let them sit for a week and this seemed to improve the flavor. They tasted great and added a wonderful flavor to the Hot Cross Buns.
Making Candied Lemon Peel
You can make Candied Lemon Peel using this method. Make it just like the Candied Orange Peel, but substitute 6 lemons for the 4 oranges.
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Happy Baking!
Cathy
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