Eating the Trash—Candied Orange Peel

Ellie called to chat the other day and in the course of our conversation, she mentioned that she had made some candied orange peel.  Of course, I’d heard of it, but not in a long time.  And she said that Cowboy really enjoyed it.  As he is rather sugar-averse, I was kinda surprised, but I figured he gave it a pass because it was homemade and involved fresh fruit. 

Anyway, I got to thinking it might be something to learn about.  I realize that most of us can’t grow oranges, but even in the Depression era and earlier, oranges were a common treat found in Christmas stockings.  Such might be the case again in the future.  And in that future, we might be a lot more interested in eating the trash—as long as it doesn’t taste like trash.

Candied Orange Peel

3 navel oranges*

2 cups granulated sugar

White sanding sugar**

 

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the pith in extra thin slices.  (Highly recommend this approach.)  

OR

Slice about ½” off from the top and bottom of each orange.  Slice through the peel and pith, scoring from top to bottom in ¼” wide strips.  Be careful not to slice into the flesh.  Peel each ¼” strip of the orange.  (Some recipes call for removing the pith because it is bitter; others keep the pith and say it offers a nice balance with the sweet.  Try it both ways to see which your family prefers.  The Raders definitely do not like the pith and I’d advise using a vegetable peeler if at all possible.)

Place the orange peel strips in a large saucepan.  Cover with water so that there is about 1” of water above the strips.  Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil.  Drain.  Repeat the boiling process with fresh water and drain again.

In the same large saucepan, combine the sugar, 2 cups water, and orange peel strips.  Over medium heat, bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the orange peel strips are bright and slightly translucent and the syrup has thickened, about 35-40 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Let stand 5 minutes.

Place a wire cooling rack on a cookie sheet.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the orange peel strips to the wire rack in a single layer. Let the excess syrup drip off.  Let stand uncovered at room temperature 12-24 hours, depending on humidity.  (Alternatively, store the peels in their syrup in the refrigerator—they’ll keep for several weeks—and drain, dry, and coat in sugar just before they are needed.)

Place sanding sugar in a zippered bag.  Toss the orange peel strips in the sanding sugar until coast and no longer sticky.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. 

*Most recipes specify using navel oranges.

**White sanding sugar is not a prep item for most people.  Several websites provided instructions for making it at home.  My results failed to impress.  It just looked like regular granulated sugar.  So I also tried commercial pale yellow sanding sugar, which I had on hand, as well as some much coarser sugar crystals (the kind used to garnish bakery muffins).  All do the job.  All give it a different look.  And many other recipes simply coat with granulated sugar.

Family reviews:  Reviews on several websites were mostly quite positive.  Some said it tasted similar to or better than candy they used to get in France, especially if dipped in chocolate.  I’ve traced my family tree back quite a ways; no French ancestry.  I don’t particularly care for it.  It’s not nasty, just not my cup of tea, I guess.  Aaron and Becky like it just fine.  It tastes just like the orange slice candy sold in stores--the ones that resemble gumdrops, but a little bit better because you know that orange flavor is real.