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?
Perfect with the rosemary. Used the syrup for cooking salmon (in combination with lemon juice and olive oil).
I've done this twice, and the ripeness of the citrus makes a big difference. My second time, the best oranges I could get were picked young (imported in late November to Bermuda). Boiled 20 minutes and then scraped off some of the pith, over an hour in the sugar syrup, but the end product is very bitter. So get ripe citrus, boil for longer (or three times) and simmer in sugar syrup for longer. And pair with something sweet to offset the bitterness.
Great recipe. I use grapefruit and boil the peels a third time. Re pith, it depends on whether you want the peels more on the chewy side and quite translucent (no pith) or softer (including pith). I like them chewy but I don’t go crazy removing every trace of pith. Too time consuming. A real holiday treat.