Candied Orange Peel

It has happened twice now that I've gone to make a recipe and needed candied orange peel and couldn't find it. I called all the stores I thought would carry it and apparently it's only a seasonal thing so I was out of luck. I decided it was time to make my own.  There are a ton of recipes out there on the Internet and I can't quite tell you why I chose this one but I did.  It worked, and I have a ton of candied orange peel now.  If I ever do need to make more I'll give one of the other recipes a whirl because this one does take several days.  It's not the instant gratification recipe that I usually go for.  If you've got a favorite please feel free to share. I need to candy some Lemons too....

I started with 6 organic oranges.  You really need oranges with no wax coating and a nice thick peel.

Cut the peels off in one inch pieces (after cutting the top and bottom portion off).

You can leave the pith on at this point, it will be removed later.

Cover in water

Boil for two minutes and then drain.  Do this three more times.

Make a simple syrup.

Juice all those oranges while you wait. I have a good orange ice cream recipe on here if you're interested. The juice has no bearing on this recipe at all. 

After the third boiling, peel the pith off leaving about 1/8 inch.

Boil the peels again two more times for a total of five times.

Drain and drop the peels into the simple syrup. Cook for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat and let sit overnight.

In the morning, use your fingers to push off the thick syrup and lay the peels on a cooling wrack for at least 24 hours.

I saved the syrup that came off the orange strips.  I have no idea what to do with it other than use it in tea.

After the peels are dry and not tacky, coat them in sugar and then let them sit for another 24 hours.

Store in your freezer indefinitely in a plastic storage container.


Candied Orange Peel
Recipe found at "Calabria From Scratch" found here

6 Organic Oranges - or oranges that have not been coated with wax.
4 cups sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Water

Use a pairing knife to cut the orange skin off in about 1 inch pieces. You can leave the pith on at this point and remove it later after cooking.

Cover the peels in cold water and bring to a boil for two minutes. Do this process three times.  After the peels have cooled you can begin to remove the pith.  Leave about 1/8 inch of the pith.

After the pith has been removed you will need to follow the step above again two more times for a total of 5 times.

In a separate pot you will make a simple syrup.  Add the sugar, lemon juice and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Stir often until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the drained peels and cook at a simmer for about an hour until the peels look translucent.

Remove from the heat and let cool overnight in the syrup. The next morning the syrup will be very thick, like honey.  Use your fingers to pick out each peel and run two fingers down each peel to remove the excess syrup.  Place the peels on a drying rack. Let them dry for at least 24 hours until they are no longer tacky.  Coat them with sugar and let them dry for another 24 hours before storing them in your freezer indefinitely.