Candied Citrus Peels Ingredients To make candied citrus peel, you will need: 3 oranges, or you could substitute 2 grapefruit or 4 lemons 4 cups sugar, plus more for rolling 4 cups water Peel and Cut the Citrus Start by peeling the oranges. Make 4 cuts along the curve from top to bottom, cutting through the peel but not the fruit. Remove the segments of peel carefully, trying not to tear them. Cut the peel into thin strips between ¼ inch to ½ inch wide. You can see that the skins of my oranges are actually pretty thin, so I’m going to leave them the way they are. If you’re using fruit with a very thick skin, you might want to use a paring knife to slice away some of the bitter white pith, but if it’s a thinner-skinned fruit, you can skip this step. Boil the Citrus Peels Place the strips in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, then drain the pot. Repeat this process two more times. This step removes a lot of the bitterness from the peels and makes the final product much sweeter, but don’t worry, some of the citrus tang remains. Dissolve the Sugar Once the strips have been boiled 3 times, combine the 4 cups of sugar and 4 cups of water in a saucepan and bring it a boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves. Wipe the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, then add the orange peels to the boiling syrup. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer the peels for an hour. By the end of this time they should be very limp and start to look translucent. Remove the pan from the heat, and let the strips cool in the syrup. Cool the Candied Citrus Peels Take the peels from the syrup and place them on a wire cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Let them drip and dry for about 30 minutes, then roll them in granulated sugar. Place them back on the wire rack in a single layer, and let them dry overnight at room temperature. If you need to speed up this process, you can put them in the oven on the lowest setting for about 30 minutes. Chocolate Candied Citrus Peels Now at this point your candied citrus peel is technically done, but I much prefer my peels with a little chocolate. If you’re like me, you can melt some chocolate in a small glass, and dip some or all of the peel in melted chocolate. Set them on a sheet of waxed paper until the chocolate hardens. Storing Candied Citrus Peels The candied peel will keep, well-wrapped, at room temperature for up to two weeks. Use it in breads or pastries, or just eat it plain by the handful.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 10:29:19 +0000
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