Rosemary Candied Orange Peel
- Total Time
- 2 hours 20 minutes, plus overnight drying
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 6thick-skinned oranges, like navels
- 4½cups sugar
- Leaves of 1 rosemary branch
Preparation
- Step 1
Quarter the oranges, discarding any woody stems, then peel the sections. Save the fruit for another use. (Or halve the oranges and juice them.) In a large saucepan, cover the peels with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and keep at a low boil for 10 minutes, stirring several times. Drain into a colander. Repeat.
- Step 2
In the empty pan, stir 4 cups sugar into 2 cups water. Tie the rosemary leaves in a piece of cheesecloth and add to the pan. Set over medium heat.
- Step 3
Slice the blanched orange peels into .25 inch-wide strips. (If you juiced the oranges, first scrape away any remaining pulp and membrane with a spoon.) Add to the pan.
- Step 4
Stir the syrup, and when it begins to boil, reduce the heat to very low. Simmer quite gently for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Step 5
Set 2 or 3 racks over wax paper. With a slotted spoon, transfer the orange peels to the racks, side by side, with a little space between them. Dry overnight. (Strain the syrup through a fine sieve and keep it in the refrigerator for sweetening punches, cocktails or tea; for macerating fresh fruit; or for soaking poundcakes.)
- Step 6
The next day, toss the orange peels with the remaining .5 cup sugar. Serve them with chocolate or dates; dip them in melted dark chocolate; or use them in cakes, ice cream or other desserts. The candied orange peels will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, for several months
Private Notes
Comments
Made this with lemon and orange peel together (2 weeks worth of citrus consumption). Did not add the rosemary. The second time simmered the peel for 1-1/2 hours and really like how the longer cooking time turned the peel translucent. Easy and delicious. Used the leftover syrup to make sangria - bonus!
in my experience, you don't remove the pith.. that's why you boil the peels, to soften them and remove the bitterness from the pith...easy peasy... this is a great recipe!
Step 1 says "Repeat." Does this mean the peels should be boiled twice for a total of 20 minutes prior to Step 2?
Can you do this first boiling the orange peels then the next day do the sugar syrup part?
I have been making these every Christmas for the last 60 years or so. The. person who taught me how to make them recommended three changes of boiling water/rinsing to tame the bitterness in the peels. A mixture of different citrus fruits is nice. I usually use thick-skinned grapefruit, orange and lemon. When I peel fruit for everyday use in the month or so before the holidays I put the peels in a zip bag that I keep in the freezer. It also simplifies the job to slice each peel at that point. I agree with others commenting here that you do not scrape the pith out - just the remaining pulp strings must go. It is a nice project for a day when you will be cooking other things in the kitchen because the timing is not crucial and (if the peels are cut and scraped ahead of time) there is only little hands-on time, but you need to be there for a while. Candied peel makes a charming gift. Also, it is almost as easy to make a big batch for bountiful sharing as a small one. It goes well with another easy treat, sugared/spiced pecans.
Perfect with the rosemary. Used the syrup for cooking salmon (in combination with lemon juice and olive oil).