candied orange peels
Recipe: candied orange peels
For many years we rented because we were in grad school, because post-docs are so short-term, because we lived in Southern California… All those years I cooked and produced vegetable and fruit scraps and bemoaned the fact that I didn’t have a compost pile of my own, in a yard of my own, to put on a garden of my own. Now that we’ve been in our own house for 2 years, I’ve been rejoicing in my own compost pile (well, compost bin - otherwise the winds would have my potato peels strewn across the next county) which sits in my own yard. I don’t have my own garden yet, but one day I will figure out what to grow in our 2-week growing season…
So it’s great that I have a composting system because I can reduce the amount of trash we take to the dump by half! Even so, I would prefer not to have to throw things away if possible. Since I was juicing oranges recently, a flash of brilliance hit me smack in the forehead and I decided to make candied orange peels. Mind you, I don’t dig on candied orange peels myself. I mean, I can stomach maybe one, or two - but that’s enough for the year. Jeremy on the other hand… he’ll sit there and eat one after another.
It’s a fairly simple process (but not a quick one) to make candied orange peels, but I never had a desire. In my pastry course, we did a massive candied orange peel campaign one night in a frenzy of garnishes and decorations. I loved that class, but it was fast-paced and because we divvied up the duties, I wasn’t able to get my hands on everything. All I ended up doing was peeling a dozen oranges and taking a ton of notes.
use almost every bit of the orange
Some recipes tell you to remove the pith, but without the pith you are left with not a lot of orange peel even though it may not technically be part of the peel. I think the concern is that the pith makes the peel bitter. You can remedy the bitterness by blanching the peels.
blanch the strips of peel three times
Simmering the peel in a sugar syrup is the next step. Some suggest 30 minutes, 45 minutes - basically simmering until translucent. I found I had to boil it for 75 minutes before I guessed it was translucent enough, but that could be my elevation (I’m sure it is).
translucent enough for ya?
What you get is a big gooey mess if you dilly dally too long. I set a few cooling racks over cookie sheets and lay the strips down one by one - not touching. Actually, I rolled several in sugar and then set them down to dry, but got tired of doing that and just let the rest dry as they were. I also think they are too sweet rolled in sugar, so drying as is was perfectly fine. The recipe says to dry for 4-5 hours, but I personally find drying for 2 days to be ideal (and I live in a rather dry environment, so humid climates will require more drying time or better controlled humidity).
a cookie sheet is great for catching all of the drips
dry 4-5 hours
When the strips were done, I stored the sugar-coated (hell, they are ALL sugar coated - I mean the sugar-rolled) strips in a tupperware. I took the non-rolled strips and dipped them in tempered dark chocolate, which is one of Jeremy’s absolute favorite confections. Those require cooling/drying time on the racks. In hindsight, I probably should have set them directly on the baking sheet because I prefer the flush face to the rack marks. Good to know.
chocolatey
better than compost
Candied Orange (Citrus) Peel
4 oranges, peel of (or any thick skinned orange)
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup sugar for rolling
or
8 oz chocolate for dipping
You can harvest the peel in many ways. Here are two I recommend: 1) Cut the oranges in half and juice them. Cut each half in half again and take a spoon to scrape the pulp out, leaving a clean pith. 2) Lop off the top and bottom of each orange (think of removing the polar caps where the stem and opposite end are) just to the fruit. Score the orange peel like lines of longitude every 60 degrees. Peel the orange and clean the inside of the peel with a spoon. (I generally don’t like to remove too much pith.)
Cut peel into 1/4 inch strips. Place peels in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Heat on high until water comes to a boil. Pour off the water. Repeat twice more. Combine sugar and water in the saucepan and bring to boil over high heat until temperature reaches 230F. Add peel and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until peels are translucent (30 minutes or longer - 75 minutes at my 8500 ft. elevation). Remove peels from syrup and roll in sugar if desired, and set on rack to dry for 4-5 hours (well, I dry for 2 days and more humid regions will require more time). Once the peel is dry, you can dip in tempered dark chocolate - shake off excess, and place on foil, wax paper, or baking sheet to dry. Store in a tupperware, or if not chocolate dipped, store in sugar or as is.
October 9th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Wow, Jennifer, those look terrific! They totally remind me of the neighborhood candy shop where I grew up, I loved all the candied fruits. Mmm, and almond bark. Can you make that next!?! Thanks for the comment over at Herbivoracious too.
October 10th, 2007 at 12:22 am
Yes, those do look better than composte.
October 10th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Hey Jen! Wonderful candied orange peels. Wish I could have some… *droolz*
Neways, welcome to the DB club, girl! ;)
October 10th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Awesome! Thank you for the detailed shots of the process. Beautiful photos!
October 10th, 2007 at 9:59 am
okay, so now I’ve read 5 of your previous posts. I’m so glad I found your blog. Love your writing —thank you for keeping it real, sista-friend!
Also, I agree with what you said about not buying a camera/lens just for food shots. While I have a great respect for those who specialize in food photography, I cringe at the thought that as bloggers, our only interest is to take nice pictures of food. ‘kay, my rant is over now.
October 10th, 2007 at 10:34 am
love love LOVE your blog.
and from what i’ve gathered, you seem pretty awesome.
that is all.
(now i’ve got new recipes to try.. thanks for sharing!
October 10th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Haha I love your caption that says “better than compost.” Those look fantastic, and if you were curious, I’d have to go with the chocolate -covered over the sugar-coated.
October 10th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Those look absolutely gorgeous! I cannot wait to try to make them. I was wondering, I have also seen candied orange slices and I wonder if you know if the cooking process is basically the same?
I came accross you site from Tastespotting (which I frequent oh at least 3 times a day) and I happened to notice the other day that gingerbread girl had posted a TON of pictures I thought she was the author and was mildly confused when the links took me to other blogs. I guess that clears THAT up!
This does bring up a question for me though. I also write a food blog. I on a regular basis use recipes that I have found in other places. I do however, actually cook the food myself and take my own pictures. I then post the recipe as I made it (because I often make changes) but I always reference and give the link to the original recipe. In essence I guess I am sort of writing recipe reviews. My question is am I following proper “blogging ettiquette”?
So, I guess what I am asking is may I use your recipe and post it on my blog in this way?
October 10th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Michael - thanks for dropping by and sure, one day i’ll be making almond bark… check back in December ;)
Peabody - ;)
Maria - thanks lady! I love being a DBer and the gang is so nice!
HolyBasil - I really appreciate your comments! Your site is lovely - I like the design (I’m a sucker for simplicity and elegance).
Lindsay - you’re sweet and I hope you’ll post your results.
Hillary - you should see the compost bin now… and yes, both of us prefer the chocolate-covered too :)
Sindy - by all means, you can use the recipes or else there would be no point in my posting them! The motivation of my food blogging is to share with other people who love food, love to cook, or want to give it a try. Half of my ideas come from other bloggers (it’s torture when you see something really good and you haven’t eaten in a while…) I just do my best to credit folks when I can - it’s like science… you reference your sources unless you came up with the original idea or data. I suppose my take on the whole blogging etiquette issue is to give credit where it is due, share with others, play nice, and don’t take things without getting permission (text and images, etc.) As for orange slices… I have never tried it with a whole slice, but I did “candy” some lemon slices for garnish to a cake in this post. I just boiled sugar and water until it reached soft crack stage and boiled 5 or so lemon slices in it until they became a little translucent. Then I took them out - cooled on a rack, and popped them on the cake. I probably didn’t simmer them long enough, but they were consumed rather quickly. Hope that helps and thanks for asking!
October 11th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Perfect, just perfect! I just love your blog at first sight!
October 11th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Anh - thanks so much!
October 14th, 2007 at 8:37 am
[...] real butter: candied orange peels - chocolate covered orange peel is a family favorite back in my neck of the woods… so [...]
October 29th, 2007 at 4:29 am
Hi Jen,
I finally made these yesterday (turned out great) but had a little problem: I had a lot of leftover syrup. Did you also? What did you do with it? I came up with the idea to add chocolate to it and it turned out great, too! I have blogged about it (don’t know why it didn’t pingback), if you would like to see.
October 29th, 2007 at 11:18 am
Hande - Oh, you are such a clever girl! I think your idea is wonderful. I actually used the leftover syrup with seltzer water. Just a dash of the syrup with lemon juice and lots of seltzer water for a nice refreshing drink. I think I meant to include that in my post but didn’t get around to it (for some reason - I’m usually blogging late at night and things leak from my brain…) Thanks for your great idea!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:17 am
these look fantastic! i wonder why i spend my money on them when i could actually make them? :)
on my ‘to do’ list they go.
another general questions: i don’t seem to be able to add you to my feed list (rss)? any tips on how to?
November 22nd, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Andreea - um, I don’t have the rss feed working at the moment. I’m not sure why, but haven’t had time to look at it (upgrading my server). Sorry! And the reason you might buy the orange peels instead of making them yourself might be because they are a pain to make? I just made a batch and didn’t temper my chocolate properly (my own fault) and the whole batch bloomed :( Unsightly, but delicious. I suppose we won’t be giving any of those away… (Jeremy is now overjoyed).
November 24th, 2007 at 11:08 am
After many years of using store-bought candied peel for my English plum puddings, I am thinking that this year I might make my own . . . in that case, would you suggest eliminating the dry sugar coating?
November 26th, 2007 at 2:37 am
Nancy - you know, I think you can safely omit the sugar coating. In fact, I don’t like it. I made another batch recently and the glaze alone, when it dries, is just fine. Plum puddings sound marvelous!!
December 2nd, 2007 at 2:49 pm
mmm, Im gonna makes these in 2 weeks for the holidays and beyond. They remind me of chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint candies :oj
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Theresa - they’re a lot of work, but people are crazy about these!
December 12th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
finally found a recipe for these! but just wondering if you could tell me how many grams in a cup of sugar? thank you
December 13th, 2007 at 7:50 am
Jessy - I googled this since I don’t know it off the top of my head… 200g in one cup for SUGAR. Volume to weight conversions are dependent on density, so beware of that if you switch to something else like… marshmallows ;)
December 21st, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Hi jenyu, what do you do with the juicy oranges? would like to make a lot but too much leftovers to eat. thanks. great photos!
December 27th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Irene - I usually wind up with orange peels because I had to juice a bunch of oranges. But we also eat a lot regularly and so I’ll save the peels and chuck them into a plastic ziploc and refrigerate (if I’m going to candy them soon) until I have enough to make a batch of candied peels.
January 4th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Thank you so much for this recipe! I tried making these last year, from a different recipe, and they were TERRIBLE! I just tried these tonight, and they were FABULOUS! I made them two times, and I found that when I blanched the peels four times, they candied faster. (I also live at a high altitude, and the first time it took an hour and a half) I absolutely love your site, and will continue to try your wonderful recipes! Thank you so much!
January 5th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Paige - Wow, terrific! Thanks for the tip on the fourth blanching, I will give that a try. The second time I made this recipe the peels were great and all of the chocolate bloomed :( I think tempering is the sticking point for me here.
January 24th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
I love this idea and i’m very fond of these treats. I’m about to be given a car load (yes i said a car load, 10 shopping bags!) of fresh grapefruits and am getting nervous. I planned on making marmalade, but this would also be a great way of using the fuit. Have you ever tried this recipe with other citrus fruits? How long do they keep for?
January 25th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Jillian - I haven’t tried it with other fruits, no. Since we live in a dry climate, my orange peels lasted about 3 weeks (well, they were eaten before they went bad…) Don’t forget you can juice the grapefruits and mix the juice with simple syrup and some lemon juice and seltzer water for a delightful cordial.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Oh, yum. I have a lot of oranges that are getting a little soft (I was just thinking they would make a wonderful snack, and I should hurry before they are TOO bad…), and since I’m out of cinnamon and can’t make potpourri, I was wondering what on earth to do with the peels. (I hate to waste.)
This recipe is certainly going to be fun to make.
But, I have a question; what type of camera do you use? I’m an aspiring photographer, and these photos are just delicious.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Ha, well, now that I’ve taken some more time to look around your site, I saw your rant about cameras and computers and whatnot. x] So, I do hope you won’t be angered by my question in the previous post. ^_^
January 26th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Jennifer, this is exactly what I was looking for!!! Last time I cooked candied orange peel was about 20 years ago when my kids were small. The other day I bought some at Godiva (yum!) but I prefer them without chocolate… so I better make my own. I already pealed the oranges and cut them into strip when I realized that I needed to know how much sugar, water, and for how long…. well!!! THANK YOU!!
January 30th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Blair - No worries on the question. Folks ask all the time, so that is why I put it in the about page :) I hope it was at least helpful. I’ve saved orange peels and put them in a tupperware in the fridge for up to a week… I wonder if you can freeze them? I always get antsy when I have a ton of good fruit on the brink of turning overripe. I hope you were able to use your oranges!
Angela - you’re so welcome! If you don’t plan to dip in chocolate, then these peels are super easy to make. It’s the chocolate dipping that makes me insane :)
February 6th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Wonderful! Thanks for posting this great, straightforward method. My kids and I just made these with clementine orange peels. We ate a 5 lb. box of clementines over about a week, always just putting the peels into a ziplock bag in the refrigerator. A couple edges got a touch brown, but that was not apparent in the finished project. Thanks!
February 8th, 2008 at 10:13 am
David - wow, I never tried it with clementine peels. Glad it worked out!
February 18th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Thank you!! What a great site!!!! You have done a wonderful job explaining things clearly. Do you have any other ideas for chocolate covered ?????????? I wanted to make a gift for a friend that loves chocolate. These will work great. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge!!!
February 20th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Martha - well, I have dipped fresh strawberries, but that’s about it. I imagine you can chocolate dip just about anything :) Go for it!
March 11th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I was wondering, I know that potatoes have poisons while raw…
Is it safe to eat orange peel or do they have enzyme inhibitors and other things that make them inedible?
Just wondering.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
Denise - I think orange peels are pretty safe. I try to use organic oranges in general. I use orange zest in a lot of cooking and have no problems with the safety issues. Just be sure to give the orange rind a good wash before you start using.
March 22nd, 2008 at 10:11 pm
For some pastry recipes my mom makes, you have to make a simple syrup whose flavor comes from boiled orange and lemon peels, honey, cinnamon and cloves. The peels aren’t part of the dessert, but they come out soft and sweet!
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Maria - yum! I use a similar syrup to make baklava and I like to nibble on the orange and lemon peel after it is removed from the syrup :)
April 6th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
oh my gosh! This recipe was fantastic! I tried it and my orange peels camr out perfect! I also tried it with lemon peels! So yummy.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:32 am
KayCee - great!
April 9th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Does the orange peel retain its benifical health ORAC points, and all its good phyto chemical etc… after all this cooking? Would love to know. I know the sugar is an off set for sure!
April 10th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Thank you! It sounds better than the one I lost years ago and have been looking for again recently. I also used it on grapefruit peel (with the pith off). Your photos are beautiful.
April 10th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
I was looking for a recipe just like this. Those look absolutely delicious.
April 14th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Boni - I doubt it, just because of the heat applied to it - it must destroy a lot of the vitamins and such. That’s my guess, but I don’t know for sure.
Shirley - yum, grapefruit! thanks :)
Harmonia - great, I hope it works for you!
April 16th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hi Jenyu,
I am so glad I found your website. Last night I was craving candied orange peels and “voila” your web site appeared. I was in Paris just a month ago and bought some of them. Now I know why they are so expensive. It’s a very time consuming but it’s worth it!
I can’t wait to make some more of these yummy candies. Thanks again.
April 17th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I love it. Thanks so much Jennifer for posting this delicious treat!
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Tini - Great! I hope they don’t cause too much headache (they are a pain, but they are delicious!). I guess the large quantity makes it worth the trouble :)
May 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
[...] it’s not all doom and gloom, friends. Thanks to Jen, I had the inspiration and know-how to make candied citrus peels. Instant sunshine and a little [...]
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:11 pm
I love the photo of the ‘drips’ … and the vivid color of the orange plus the smell of oranges….sigh… c’est super bonne!
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
What a great tutorial! I’ve always wanted/needed someone to explain this process to me s-l-o-w-l-y. Thanks, I think I’m going to try these as a garnish for a wedding rehearsal dessert I’ve got coming up…
May 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Pixen - thank you!
Court - awesome, I hope this recipe works out for you :)
June 4th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Hey,
came accross your blog yesterday (through the link from Fanny’s foodbeam blog). let’s say I didn’t get as much work done as I should have! I’ve put you in my favourites.
I have been doing candied peels all year, ever since I came accross a recipe. I recommand trying it with grapefruit, it’s amazing (although my ultimate favourite is candied lemons, but you need a fair amount of lemons before you get a decent batch!)
Thanks for that blog, it’s really great!!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Pomme - thank you :)
June 25th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Hi Jen,
just popping by to say, I’m on my third batch using your recipe. I’m visiting friends at the moment, and they’ve been commenting on how lovely the peels are… much nicer than usual actually! Your recipe seem to help keeping the peels nice and moist, the way I was doing before, they would end up drying up a bit, I brought a huge box a couple of days ago and they’re all gone!!
Still in love with your blog, as you can see :-)
June 30th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Pomme - great! Thanks and I’m happy to hear you are such a pro at the peels now.
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for that recepie, i’m doing it right now, on a rainy sunday afteroon here in Argentina! Hope i’ll enjoy them tomorrow. I’m doing them out of grapefruit which I had for breakfast. i’ll try I’m do them out of lemon and oranges next time I do something with those. What I like the most is the ecofriendly approach.
Nice pictures!!
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Romina - I haven’t tried this with grapefruit, but I hope it works out. I know many people had some bad results when they tried to candy grapefruit peel. I hope yours works. Thanks!
August 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am
[...] Another great quick ice cream was fig ice cream. Boil a pound of figs with some brown sugar, grated lemon peel and some juice and a dash of homemade vanilla vodka. After it cools, mix it with 250 ml of cream, add some more lemon juice and freeze, as above, working it every once in a while with your stick blender. Serve with little pieces of candied orange peel! [...]
August 13th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
[...] tried Jennifer Yu’s method of blanching the peels three times to do away with the bitterness but I still got some that [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I love this idea of using every bit of the orange. No waste! And it looks yummy to boot. I’m glad I found your blog, I can’t wait to read more of your recipes and ideas.
http://www.homewithmandy.blogspot.com/
Thanks! Mandy
August 27th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Home w/ Mandy - thank you!
September 17th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Hi Jennifer…
I’m so glad I found your site… I have been composting for some time to reduce the amount of garbage we’re taking to the landfill… But, I just love the idea of reducing my compostables, too… I made this recipe for the first time today and will be making it often! Thank you so much!
September 17th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Charm - yay! I’m so glad to hear it :)
October 4th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Thanks for this recipe! They’re a perfect topping for chocolate orange cheesecake, and I always make extra to snack on while I work.
October 8th, 2008 at 10:08 am
BrigMW - great! That is a fantastic use for them :)
November 20th, 2008 at 5:14 am
Jen,
Thanks a ton! I cater and was just browsing to find the best recipe for candied orange peel garnish for a martini. Yours is perfect! Simple, great photos and has all the elements I was looking for.
November 21st, 2008 at 10:10 am
Gourmade - thanks and I hope you like them as much as I do!
November 22nd, 2008 at 7:44 pm
does anyone know if it would be plausible/smart to reuse the syrup to make them the next time around?? delicious, by the way!!!
November 24th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Courtney - I’ve never reused the syrup for candying the orange peels, but you can use the syrup in other baking.
November 26th, 2008 at 5:59 am
I am about to make your gorgeous sounding candied orange peels. I am an army wife living in Belgium. The up side is the chocolate here. Neuhaus do a small pack of these yummy things and I have to say yours look better so you should start marketing them in the UK (you probably already do!) Thanks for the easy to read layout and hints throughout. Can’t wait ot taste them now! Nikki
November 30th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Nikki - thanks, but I think if I had to make these for a living I’d go nuts :)
December 10th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Hi Jen,
I was surfing around for candied orange peel, & came accross your blog. A big WOW, made some this yr from a famous cook, but did not turn out so well, but i am anxious to try try this recipe listening to all the bloggers. I also notice a recipe using grapefruit. Jen is it possitble to candy grapefriut peel or is that something that could not be used?
My next question was when I coat the orange peels, about how long will they keep in an airtight container. Because I had placed them in the frige. WRONG MOVE, they got horrible & had to throw them away.
And as all the other bloggers, your pix shots are awesome. Keep up the good work. I now have you bookmarked for more goodies.
Many thanks again!
December 13th, 2008 at 3:32 am
thanks a bunch for this site. I candied orange peel years ago, but when I looked back for the recipe it had shrunk on me - one measly paragraph (and no quantities). Its really great to find such detailed instructions and pictures. I can’t thank you enough.
Have a virtual chocolate coated candied orange peel
December 13th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
OMG. Made these today and OMG (have I said that already?)! They were fan——tastic. Oh it needs that superlative! I always thought they would be too bitter for me. I have to say they are like “sugared orange slices” on taste steroids. I just loved them.
December 15th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Lovely and some great instructions. I am going to be making these for Christmas hampers for my in-laws, they will love them!!! I love eating these whenever I’ve had a chance to buy them but I am not going to buy them from now on!!
More, more!!
December 16th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
PJ - uh, I have ever tried to candy grapefruit peel and I recall Deb of Smitten Kitchen had a batch that didn’t candy well. You may want to search around on the blogs for anyone who has done it successfully. The orangettes seem to keep at least a week in a tupperware at room temp. Definitely make sure to let the candied peels dry (it takes mine 24 hours).
Bookaholic - thanks.
Lori - hee hee, great!
Hazera - good luck!
December 19th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
[...] what possessed me to make five types of candy (in one day!) this year. I’m blaming Jen and all of her flawless [...]
December 20th, 2008 at 6:07 am
[...] iznenađena činjenicom da se i kore citrusa mogu kadirati i jesti. Smitten kitchen i grejpfrut, Use real butter i narandže, i The Small Object Steno Pad i [...]
December 21st, 2008 at 11:06 pm
[...] out pretty good. Thanks to Deb at Smitten Kitchen for the detailed instructions and Jennifer at Use Real Butter for the written [...]
December 24th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I got a box of oranges from my sister for Christmas! I went looking for THIS recipe while I was juicing some :^)
Don’t have time to read all the comments, but I found that using a pizza cutter makes cutting those strips EASY. Gawd, it smells good in here!
Thanks!
December 26th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I have been wanting to make panettone for ages but I didn’t have any candied orange peels, which you’re supposed to chop up and put in the dough, nor did I know how to make any. Thankfully I stumbled upon your very helpful recipe and lovely photos. I’ll report back next week and tell you how the peels (I’m using tangerines) and the panettone turn out :)
December 27th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Quick question….
I didn’t want to throw away the sugary, orangey syrup in the pan so I filtered out the remnants and I’ve kept it but just wondering what I could do with it. It’s very nice - reminds me of honey. Any suggestions?
And how should I store it if I just want to keep it as it is? Should I reduce it down so that it’s totally syrupy? Thanks….
December 27th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Oh, I just realised, someone has already asked the same thing as my recent post…
But suggestions would still be really welcome as I am not sure what Seltzer water is - I’m in the UK. Is it like carbonated mineral water?
December 27th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Hi! Just found your blog. Great! Thank you! So many recipes I can’t wait to try.
You mentioned on these orangettes that the chocolate part was the biggest pain for you. Is that because the chocolate must be tempered? I have never tempered chocolate. Do you have any tips?
I live at 6000 feet and my candy making here has not worked out at all. I tried toffee and maple fudge this year and they were horrible. I didn’t have any problems with toffee at sea level. I will try your caramel recipe soon to see how that works.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Birdie - good tip! I don’t own a pizza cutter, but I have a lovely ceramic knife that is sharp as all get out - I LOVE to slice things with it :)
Lauren - I hope you like it. I love panettone and didn’t even realize I should use these for that recipe. Yet one more to add to the list of recipes to try!
Hazera - yes, folks have asked about that. You can use the syrup to flavor soda water (seltzer water is just carbonated water - sometimes flavored), add it to citrusy cocktails, use it to flavor chocolate mousse, syrup, desserts…, add it to hot cocoa, etc. I stored mine in the refrigerator in a sealed glass jar.
Elizabeth - well, the chocolate doesn’t need to be tempered, and I don’t actually try very hard to temper it because it falls out of temper too quickly. Maybe if I set it over a warm water bath, but keeping it between 89 and 91 °F is quite a chore in my house which is typically 65°F. You can read about tempering chocolate on my truffles post: http://userealbutter.com/2008/12/12/truffle-this/ but there are much better resources for doing it right. Tempering is a very complex subject matter. If you’re at 6000 feet, then you need to adjust your candying temperatures. You will reach hard crack stage or caramelization stage earlier than someone at sea-level. Usually the rule of thumb is to subtract 1°F for every 500 feet. So for me at 8500 feet, I generally subtract 17°F, which is a lot, but it seems to work (whereas not following that tidbit seems to result in really hard or ruined candy and other things).
December 30th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Loving your blog!! Going through that uncertain stage of ‘peel candying. Waiting for that elusive translucent moment…nearly there I think?
Great photo’s & descriptive text.
Here’s hoping?
Thanx
Paul
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Paulo71 - thank you. I hope it worked out. I didn’t really like orangettes until I made them myself. Fresh is definitely better than any store-bought stuff (which tastes horribly chemically to me).
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I made these a few days ago and they were great! I haven’t gotten around to making the panettone I was planning to use them in, but I did dip some of the peels in semisweet chocolate and gave them to my boyfriend’s mother. She loved them!!! Thanks for the recipe.
January 4th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Lauren - you’re very welcome.
January 8th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Just discovered your site…wonderful in all aspects (food, thoughts, and images). Your candied orange rinds would be a nice complement to what I do with those tiny fresh sections of clementines..dip half in melted bittersweet chocolate. The contrast of bitter chocolate and the tiny burst of clementine juice…you can eat an embarassing amount of them. Again, lovely site. kudos from New Mexico
January 11th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Susan - thank you.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:04 am
[...] Make candied peels: Who says you can’t eat peels? Better to sweeten and soften a little beforehand though. Check out this terrific (and deliciously illustrated) candied orange peel recipe from foodie blog Use Real Butter. [...]
January 24th, 2009 at 1:58 am
I tried this recipes once already with tangerines… WAY too thin, on top of the fact I took ALL the pith out. If I ever get around to buying tangerines again, I will definitely try it without removing the pith at all…
It was a bit crunchy but still delicious.
This time I just got done making it with navel oranges…. I was hell bent on making these the right way… I get like that when it comes to cooking: relentless & a bit of a perfectionist. I don’t know what happened… maybe it was turned up too high but 45 minutes into simmering it, there was hardly any syrup left! I scrambled making more syrup in a seperate pot than added it to the almost frying peels…
Hopefully it will turn out right! I plan on sending some to my family back home…. they have never even heard of candied oranges! Do you know how they might do with the postal service? My candied oranges are going from the midwest to southeast AK. I also got some chocolate to dip in a few of them. ->chocoholic!novice photographer<-
Next on my list is the sandwich w/avacado, egg & whatnot. looks mouthwatering! (drool)
PS i also could not find a cooler rack thingie so i improvised a little…. I felt like paula deen & maguiver’s love child LOL :D
THANKS for this awesome site!!!
January 24th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I just tried these for the first time and think they turned out great (they’re still drying, so can’t be positive, but all signs point to success). Regarding your January 2008 question — whether or not you can freeze the peels until you’re ready to candy them — I cut and froze orange peels periodically until I had a big batch/time to cook it. Used them frozen and it worked just fine. Thanks for a fabulous and fun-to-read blog!
January 26th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Ann - I hope they turned out for you. This is definitely one of those recipes that you need to keep an eye on. Sometimes the sugar will seize and become one giant solid mass of dry sugar and you don’t want that sitting on the burner for 45 minutes. Check it often and try not to disturb the syrup or introduce air into it. They are quite delicious. I didn’t used to like orange peels, but now I love them because homemade tastes so much better. Thanks for commenting!
H - Nice to know, thanks! I hope yours are awesome :)
February 4th, 2009 at 11:58 am
well uumm i live in fresno california where we are in abundance in citrus mainly oranges and i simply was looking for the do’s and dont’s on freezing fresh squeezed oj and dreading the time its going to consume to do this but NOW……….NOW i find your blog and HAVE to make those candied peels as well!!!! Good BYe housework, good bye husband, good bye to life as i knew it cuz im making peels too!!!!!MMMMmmmmmmm hope i have the energy left to eat em all!!!! THANK YOU
February 5th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Randi - I’m so jealous of your fresh citrus (I used to live in So Cal and now I have to pay for my citrus in Colorado). The peels are time consuming, but everyone loves them. Hope you do too!
February 8th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
How can you prevent the chocolate coating from being “pockmarked” after a week or 2. The chocolate coated orange peel looks great for a few days. Then light brown tiny specks appear all over. This does not affect the taste but looks terrible.
February 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Carmela - I don’t keep these for more than a week, but if the chocolate is tempered properly and your peels are dry, they don’t seem to develop any problems.
February 10th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I finally got this one down - after three tries. Not as beautiful as yours, and I didn’t chocolate coat them. But yummy anyways.
February 12th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Amy - great job.
March 13th, 2009 at 10:41 am
so i googled candied orange peel and your site showed up second only to the food network (and they don’t have any amazing pictures). if i’ve only got x amount of hours in the kitchen, which i’d like to spend making cannolis instead of making candied orange peels, and my sicilian godmother isn’t around anymore to hook me up, where could i track some down in boulder? i spent some time searching in whole foods to no avail…
i love your blog - great tips on where to eat locally as well as tasty recipes (recently made the pistachio ice cream, which turned out great). thanks and keep up the good work!
March 16th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Tom - I don’t actually know where you can find candied orange peels around town. I’ve never looked, but you might try asking Peppercorn on Pearl St.? Thanks for dropping by!
March 30th, 2009 at 1:32 am
[...] Check out Jen of Use Real Butter’s post. [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
[...] 1/3 c. finely chopped candied orange peel (this is available from King Arthur Flour or you can make your own 1/3 c. golden raisins 3 1/4 - 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose [...]
May 4th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
I love your photos and the way you make this looks so simple, can’t wait to try this beautiful recipe!!!
May 5th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Those look so good, can not wait to try. The left over syrup would be good over a bread pudding or over a plain carrot cake, I make a orange glaze for mine. Thanks for the recipe.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Ruth - thank you!
Jan - yes, definitely save the syrup! It’s great on so many things.