Candied Orange Peel
These candied orange peels are delicately sweet with a citrusy aroma and a delightfully chewy texture. As elegant as they look, they’re surprisingly easy to make at home! This simple 3-ingredient vegan recipe is perfect for homemade gifts, cookie trays, to elevate your holiday cocktails, and more.
Servings: 10 people, as a snack
Ingredients
- 3 large oranges (you'll use the skin, so untreated/organic is preferred)
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup superfine (caster) sugar
Instructions
- Prepare the peel. Cut off the top and bottom of each orange with a sharp knife. Make 4 vertical incisions through the peel and pith on both oranges without cutting into the fruit. Use your fingers to separate each quarter of the peel, including the pith, from the fruit. The peel should separate relatively easily from the fruit without tearing. Use the knife to slice the peel lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide pieces.
- Boil the peel. Add the orange peel slices to a medium saucepan and add enough cold water to cover the peels by one inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Drain the peels. If your fruit is very bitter, repeat this step up to 2 more times (see note)
- Make the sugar syrup. Clean out the saucepan. Add the sugar and 2 cups of water and set over medium heat. The sugar will dissolve into a syrup and then come to a boil.
- Candy the peels. Once the syrup begins to boil, carefully drop in the orange peels and reduce the heat to low. Cook the peels, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain a constant, gentle simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, until the orange peels are soft and the pith starts to turn translucent. The syrup will have thickened, and the bubbles will be thick and glass-like. You can also use a candy thermometer to check for doneness—the syrup should register between 235°F – 245°F (soft ball stage).
- Drain. Take the pan off the heat. Once the syrup stops bubbling, carefully strain the peels over a heatproof bowl. Reserve the syrup for another use (see note).
- Coat the candied peels in sugar. Pour the superfine sugar into a rimmed sheet pan or a wide, shallow bowl. Add the candied orange peels and use a small set of tongs or a couple of forks to toss them in the sugar to coat, separating them if they stick together.
- Let the peels dry. Spread the candied orange peels in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan or on a nonstick wire rack. Let them sit uncovered at room temperature until dried, overnight or at least 12 hours. They’re ready when they no longer feel tacky and don’t stick to each other.
- Storage. Once dried, store candied orange peels in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
- You can choose to boil the peels up to 3 times to remove more bitterness before candying. With oranges, you can blanche the peels just once or twice to save time, but with more bitter citrus fruits, such as lemons, limes, or grapefruit, I suggest repeating the step twice.
- The resulting syrup can replace simple syrup in cocktails, mocktails, lemonade, iced tea and more. You can also use it to replace honey or maple syrup on pancakes, baked pears, French toast, or even fruit salad.
- Note: The syrup will be more concentrated than a typical simple syrup. To dilute, combine it with 1/4 cup of water and bring it to a simmer in a small saucepan. Cool and strain it through a sieve into a bottle or airtight container. It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- If you can't find superfine sugar, put an equal amount of granulated sugar into a food processor and pulse until the granules resemble fine table salt. Do not over process or you will end up with powdered sugar.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams, and spices.
Nutrition
Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.9g | Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 0.2mg | Potassium: 0.4mg | Sugar: 20g | Calcium: 0.2mg | Iron: 0.01mg
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