Candied Orange Peel

Candied Orange Peel

First thing I need to say that I have "been off my feed" for a few days.  I had a knee injury and had been favoring the other leg and in all my wisdom decided I was making matters worse by doing that so I forced weight on the leg and got EVERYTHING screaming with pain.  Makes me a grouch when I do stupid things.  So anyway I have been taking it easy and the things I have cooked didn't turn out badly but they were not really all that good either....No sense posting things I don't really like,  so I don't.

I LOVE candied orange peel.  Love it just as it is or dunked in chocolate, both milk or even better dark!!  I had never made it, so I did.  It is yummy if you like this kind of thing.  The peel becomes sweet, tart, a bit chewy, just really good.  I have not made up chocolate to dip any yet.  I am enjoying them so much just as they are.  I can promise that come Christmas if not before more dried citrus and the chocolate will flow!!  The French call them Orangettes when they coat one half of the strip of the candied peel with chocolate or serve them with chocolate bark.  An additional plus is that after the treats are finished I have a pint of both orange sugar and orange syrup packed to use in other recipes or maybe to sweeten my tea with??

I first saw a recipe for making candied lemon peel on Martha Stewart one day,  then I saw a post at chefjoshuaalan.com that was beautifully done.   Here is my version:

Candied Orange Peels:

6 navel oranges
4 1/2 C. water,  plus water for boiling
1 1/2 C. sugar, plus sugar for coating
optional,  dark chocolate

Wash wash and thoroughly dry 6 navel oranges.  Peel the oranges by scoring the skins about 1/4" deep with a sharp knife.  First start at the stem and cut all the way around and through the navel and back to the stem end.  Start again 1/3 of the way around repeating as before.  Then once more.  See the picture and it will be clearer to you.  Place you thumb under the peel at the top and gently work your way down to the bottom.  You should end up with 6 sections.

Next slice each section into thirds (about 1/4" thick) and place them in a medium pan with enough water to cover.  Bring the water to a boil.  Immediately drain the pot and repeat 2 more times.  Please just bring to a boil and drain, the object is not to cook them,  just bring to a boil.  Drain after the third time and set aside.

Over medium heat bring the sugar and water to a boil to form a syrup stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat.  Add the peels and cook for 45 minutes at a gentle simmer.  Drain the peels well and toss in to sugar and shaking to coat.  Dry on a wire rack.  This time to dry may vary.  Some give a few hours but that would vary depending on time of year and humidity.  I let mine dry overnight and they are fine.  Upon thinking about this it would also vary depending on how thick skinned the oranges were.  Mine were quite thin.

After they have dried you can enjoy them as they are or dip in melted chocolate, or strew across chocolate bark.  I have packed mine in clean jars and will probably have all sorts of wonderful ideas of how to enjoy them.