How to Make Candied Fruit Peel

December 2nd, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

I’m notorious for giving homemade goodies at the holidays—from bags of squishy marshmallows and freshly ground hot chocolate to bottles of velvety Irish Cream.

I’m not usually one to brave the pre-Christmas crush at the malls (and I’m not organized enough to get my shopping done months in advance)—plus, I spend most of my time in the kitchen, anyway. So it kind of works out.

Candied fruit peel is one of those miraculous acts of culinary alchemy.

You take tough, bitter fruit rind that’s packed with oil you could use to polish your furniture, and, thanks to the magic of sugar, transform it into heavenly, fragrant candy.

The result is one part fruit, one part sweet jelly—and totally delicious. They’re like those fruit slices that my grandmother used to love. (You know the ones I mean.) Only a thousand times better.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Candied fruit peel is easier than you might think to make at home.

Basically, you blanch thin strips of peel to remove most of their bitterness, then let them take a leisurely soak in a bubbling sugar bath.

Let them drip dry, then roll them around in sugar until they’re wearing sparkle-y little sweaters.

Leave them out on a rack overnight to cure, and package them up and start handing them around.

That’s it! The process isn’t instant, but it certainly is easy.

To me, the hardest part of this whole process is getting the peel off in nice, presentable pieces. I’ve included detailed instructions on how to do just that.

Should I remove the white pith from the peel?

I say no. Here’s why.

A little unscientific research on the interwebs reveals that there are differing opinions on how much of the papery white pith to remove from the peel.

Some folks recommend scraping off every last bit of it, because it’s bitter. Some say leave the pith on and blanch the peels.

I’m in the latter camp. A quick swim in boiling water soaks out a lot of that bitterness. The simmering sugar bath takes care of the rest. I never cut the pith off, and it’s never been a problem. Plus, it means there’s less prep—and more candy to love.

So, pith on or off: It’s entirely up to you.

This recipe will work with most citrus fruits

I happened to use oranges, but this technique will work with lemon, lime, grapefruit, and blood orange (etc.).

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Candied fruit peel + flavored simple syrup = two treats in one

Once you cook the fruit peel, don’t toss the sugar syrup! It’s deeply flavorful and will make a wonderful addition to desserts, cocktails, and tea.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Just pour the sugar syrup through a strainer to capture any errant bits of peel, then toss it in the fridge and use within a month or so.

This recipe calls for equal parts sugar and water, just like regular simple syrup. The addition of the fruit peel and the long cooking time can throw your proportions off, though, which means that your syrup may wind up crystallizing a little—or a lot.

If that happens, just heat the syrup up to liquify it again and you’re good to go.

Candied Orange Peel

3 large oranges
4 cups water
4 cups sugar + 1 cup sugar for coating the peel

Yields about 3/4 – 1 lb. candy, depending on how big your oranges are

Peel the oranges

Grab your oranges. Give them a rinse under cold water, then wipe them dry.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Whack about a quarter-of-an-inch off each end.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

You want about this much of the inside showing:

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

With a sharp paring knife, cut through the peel and into the white pith. Slice through the peel from the top of the orange to the bottom. Don’t cut all the way through the pith and into the fruit.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Make the same cut a few inches over.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Cut a shallow semi-circle into the top of the orange at the edge of the peel to connect the two cuts you just made.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Wiggle your finger under one edge of the peel. Work your finger down under the peel to separate it from the fruit.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Keep going until you’ve removed the whole piece of peel.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Repeat this process until you’ve removed all the peel in nice, whole pieces.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Then do the same with the other oranges.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

At this point, if you’re like me, you may start playing with the orange rinds, like they’re Legos. Save the oranges, and do something yummy with them.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Slice each piece of peel into thin strips. Mine were about as wide as a No. 2 pencil, give or take.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Blanch the orange peels

Put a few inches of water in a medium-sized pot and set it on the stove over high heat to boil. (Sidebar: Look for a post soon on how to make an easy homemade polish for your embarrassingly tarnished copper pots.)

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

When it’s boiling, drop in all the sliced orange peel.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Give the pot a stir to soak them all.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Boil for about 20 minutes.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Drain the peel in a colander. Run under cold water until the peels are cool to the touch (this will take a minute or two). I should note that many recipes have you blanch the peel a few times. I’ve done it that way before, and I honestly don’t see any difference. Once is just fine with me.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

At this point, your peels will be floppy and kind of sad looking. That’s just fine. Leave ‘em in the colander while you whip up the sugar syrup.

Simmer the fruit peel in sugar syrup

Put the water and sugar in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Whisk to combine. Bring the syrup up to a boil, whisking occasionally until all the sugar melts.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

When the sugar syrup is boiling, carefully add the blanched peel to the pot. (Be careful! Boiling sugar is like napalm.)

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Give the peel a stir. Lower the heat a little. You want to maintain a rolling (but not furious and bubbling over) boil.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Boil the peel for about 45 minutes like this. (Keep a good eye on the pot after 30 minutes. Your peel may take more or less time, depending on how thick it is.) Your kitchen will start to smell amazing after a few minutes.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

The peel is done when it’s translucent.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

It should look jellied and clear, like candy:

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Drain the orange peel

Grab a baking sheet. Line it with a few paper towels. Set a rack on top of the towels.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

A few at a time, fish the peel out of the syrup with a fork.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Set the peel on your prepared rack to drain. Repeat until all the peel is on the rack.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Let the peel drip dry for about 15 minutes.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Roll the fruit peel in sugar & dry out overnight

Remove the sticky rack with the orange peel from the sheet pan and set it aside on the counter. Put a clean rack in its place on the pan. (You don’t want to use the same, sticky one for the finished candy.)

After about 15 minutes, put 1 cup of sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Drop a few pieces of the peel into the sugar. (I do this a few pieces at a time to keep them from clumping together.)

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Roll the peel around to coat on all sides.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

You want each piece to be completely coated, like this. Give the peel a tap against the side of the bowl to knock off the extra sugar.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Set the sugar-coated peel on the clean rack.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Repeat with the rest of the peel until it’s all coated in sugar. Space them out so they’re not touching. Leave them out just like this, uncovered, to dry out overnight.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Save the syrup!

Don’t forget all that luscious syrup.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Run it through a strainer to remove any bits of peel that might be left in it.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Let it cool to room temperature, then pop it into the fridge and use it up within a month. Depending on how much liquid evaporated, it might solidify a little (or a lot) in the fridge. If that happens, just heat it up to dissolve.

How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Enjoy!How to Make Candied Fruit Peel at The Hungry Mouse

Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway!

The prize is a Nespresso espresso machine! The contest closes on Friday at midnight. Enter to win here.

Cheers!

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