Don’t throw away the peel!! Turn them into candied orange peel and save the leftover liquid sugar as a citrus simple syrup to sweeten drinks. You can also chop them up and use in place of dried fruits in cookies or cakes. Plus the peels has lots of nutrients and fiber, a good way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Candied Orange Peel
Servings
2 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 oranges I used Blood and Cara Cara here
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
Instructions
- Wash your oranges well. Remove the peel of the orange with a knife or your hands. Cut the peel into 1/4 inch strips.
- Place the peel into a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and then strain. Repeat the process two more times to help remove some bitterness from the peel.
- Place 2 cups water and 1 cup of sugar in the pot and bring over medium high heat. Once sugar is dissolved add orange peel. Allow to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain any remaining syrup from the pot and put it back on the heat over high to reduce a bit before placing in a glass jar to use as a simple syrup in beverages, keep refrigerated.
- Spread the peels on a drying rack or paper towels. Allow to dry overnight and then sprinkle some granulated sugar on top and store in an airtight container.
This recipe is very good, but I would appreciate a little clarification. Does it matter that the orange peels have a lot of pith? The Cara Cara ones I used were thick: not the others though.
My second question is putting a lid on the boiling sugar pot would defeat the purpose of boiling it off? It was hard to keep the temperature steady.
Thanks for an easy to follow recipe!
It is okay if it has more pith but it might result in a more bitter taste, but it should be fine. You could put the lid on the pot at the beginning but I would also worry about it over cooking and boiling over with a lid, so be attentive.
I love your recipes