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The second life of an orange: candied orange peels, the Italian way
My job is tightly connected to my favourite activity, cooking, therefore I find it difficult to pinpoint what I like to do when I’m not working. What do I do when I do not cook for the blog, for a magazine or in a class? Apart from reading, something I leave to the evening when the lights are dim and the rhythms slow down, I think you won’t be surprised if I tell you that I cook, again.
There are two activities that I especially enjoy: one is baking bread, both with fresh brewer’s yeast, added sparingly to the dough, and with sourdough, which I’ve been feeding for almost five years now, with some highs and many more lows.
The other one is preserving: I find it genetically satisfying to make jams and marmalades to preserve the best produce of the season for as long as possible. Don’t get me started with the liqueurs: limoncello, bergamot liqueur, lemon verbena, nocino, alchermes… I might sip them twice a year, but that’s not the point for me. I am so proud when I line them up on the table after a dinner with friends or a cooking class, it is home made at its best.
Over the last few years, since the production of panforte and cavallucci for Christmas took on pastry shop rhythms, I started to make my homemade candied orange peels and candied citron peels. Apart from the exorbitant cost of high quality artisanal candied peels, which is totally justified, given the amount of time it takes to make them, the taste of home-made candied peels has nothing to do with that of store bought, colouring bright, preservative rich ones. Making your own candied peels cuts down the costs and provides you with the most fragrant peels you’ll ever taste.
One of the reasons why winter is my favourite season are citrus fruits.
As soon as I see citrus fruits on the market stalls, I compulsively buy them and bring them home by the bagful. The production of bergamot marmalade or bitter orange marmalade is the peak of the citrus season for me.
I eat tons of oranges, too, so I had to come up with an idea to use them. When someone eats an orange, they look at me with a terrified look: how do you want the peel? the whole skin, pith included? just a thin zest? Is that okay?
The thick skin, with all the pith, in large and regular segments, is good for making candied peels. If you carefully remove just the orange zest with a peeler, that’s perfect to make orange powder.
Candied orange peels, how to make them at home
When my parents asked me what I wanted for Christmas I gave them a list for marmalade lovers: a jam funnel, jam jar tongs and a refractometer. This geeky tool, which looks like a kaleidoscope, is used to measure Brix degrees, which indicate the density of sugars in a liquid. It comes in handy for marmalades and candied peels in this moment of the year, while I’m going to use it to have the right amount of sugar in syrups to make sorbets in summer.
Obviously the refractometer is not essential for candying the peel, though it helps. Below you can find the detailed procedure to candy your orange peels at home. Then you’ll be able to use in panforte, in cavallucci, and also in a simple citrus pound cake, or you can cut them in strips and cover with melted chocolate…
Consider having a pot with peels and syrup on the stove for about ten days: the positive side is that your kitchen will smell incredibly fresh and citrussy for days.
Candied orange peels
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by EmailIngredients
- 500 g of organic orange peels
- 1250 g of sugar
- 1250 g of water
- 300 g of glucose , or acacia honey
Instructions
Collecting the orange peels
- Cut the ends of the oranges, carve the peel into large segments, then gently remove with your hands the whole peel, pith included. It will take you a few days to make 500 grams of orange peel. Collect the peels gradually in a plastic container and cover with cold water. Keep at room temperature. Change the water twice a day, this will also take away the bitterness of the peel. When you have the amount you need, start the candying process.
Preparing the orange peels
- Fill a pot with water and add the peels. Bring the water to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, drain the peels and cool them down in a bowl of cold water. Repeat this process for blanching the peels two more times. The last time, instead of removing the peels as soon as the water starts to boil, simmer them for at least 30 minutes, or until the white part has become translucent. At this point, gently drain the peels and cool them again.
- Once cold, drain the peels and let them drain well on a wire rack.
Candying the orange peels
- Prepare the water and sugar syrup. Some people say to double the weight of the peels to find the amount of water and sugar needed, others suggest to multiply by three, to make sure you have enough syrup for the storage. After trying both ways, I decided that the right amount for me is two and a half times. So, for 500 grams of peels you will need 1.250 grams of water and 1.250 grams of sugar. This will help you do the maths if you have a smaller of bigger amount of peels.
- Pour the water and the sugar into a large pot and stir well, then heat over medium-low fire until the sugar has completely dissolved and the syrup will almost begin to boil.
- Turn off immediately and bathe the orange peel into the hot syrup. They must be completely covered by the syrup. Leave them in the syrup until the following day. Do not cover the pot otherwise the steam condensation would drip into the pot.
- The next day, heat the syrup again with the orange peesl still inside. As soon as it starts to boil, turn it off. I took a shortcut: some remove the peels every time before bringing the syrup back to a boil, to prevent them from breaking. For a small home production, though, there is no need to complicate your life. Wait again until the following day.
- The candying process will take from 7 to 10 days. How to know when the peels are ready? The syrup will thicken day by day, becoming stickier. Eventually it will create a film on the surface, and it will be almost as thick as honey. For the geeks out there, use a refractometer, the tool which measures the concentration of sugar: the peels will be candied to perfection when the syrup will reach 72° Brix.
- When you are at the last boiling, add the glucose, or the acacia honey, to prevent the peel from crystallizing or becoming too hard, stir carefully until dissolved and bring to the boil.
Preserving the candied orange peels
- Up until the last year I would drain completely the peels and store them in a Tupperware in the refrigerator, but the peels tended to crystallize and become hard. Now I collect them in a sterilized jam jar, covering them with their syrup, then I seal the lid.
- If you have some leftover syrup, keep it in the fridge in a jar: you can use it to brush cakes or to make sorbets and refreshing drinks in summer.
- To seal the jars, arrange them in a pan and place them in the oven at 100°C. Dry cook the jars for 40 minutes for 250 grams jars. If the jar keeps 500 grams of liquid, the cooking time will be 80 minutes. Again, easy maths. Remove the jars from the oven and let them cool down, then store them in a cool and dry place in your pantry for a year or more.
- When you open the jar, use the candied orange peels you need and keep it in the fridge until you have finished all the peel.
Sources
I read many articles, asked tons of questions and eventually came to my home-made method, which is not scientifically rigorous. These are the sources that helped me find a way, along with a trial and error process which was so fun all the way down to my candied orange peels.
- Arance Candite, metodo classico on I Pasticci dello ZioPiero’s blog (in Italian)
- Scorze di arancia candite on Teonzo’s blog (in Italian)
- Scorze di arancia candite, metodo italiano, on Martina’s blog (in Italian)
Other interesting readings:
- Candied Orange Peel, by Domenica Marchetti. Some cooks are intimidated by the candying process, which calls for poaching fruit in sugar syrup, but it’s easier than you might think, and it is especially easy to candy citrus peel. As the peel absorbs the hot syrup, it is transformed from a bitter pithy thing into a chewy-soft confection with jewel-like translucence.
- How to make candied orange peels, by Cooking with Rosetta.
Candied citron peels, how to make them at home
The exact same procedure can be applied to citron peels. In this case, cut the citron in a half, and then in quarters. With a sharp knife cut away the pulp and keep the white pith, which will be thick and firm. Depending on the thickness of the peel, it may take a day or two more than orange to candy.
Do not throw away the pulp. You can add it to a marmalade (and we’ll talk about it next week) and also slice it thinly into a salad. The citron, if possible, is even more charming than the orange once it has been candied.
Orange powder
Every year I fill a jar with this fine powder with an intensely orange scent and use it sparingly since the end of the orange season in biscotti, cakes, but also in risotti and with fish to substitute the freshly grated orange zest, one of the most celestial smells in the world.
I recently discovered that what I believed to be a new way to preserve the orange aroma throughout the hot months was instead an old remedy, something my grandmother has always done. They would dry up the orange peel next to the fireplace and crumble it in cakes and biscotti when needed. Those women had never thrown something away, let alone the peel of a fruit as precious as an orange.
So how do you make it nowadays? Remove the orange zest with a peeler. Collect it on a wire rack and dry until brittle next to a stove, on a radiator or near the fireplace. You can also dry them up in a dehydrator and in the oven on low temperatures. Be careful as the orange zest is so thin that it burns up easily. When you have a good amount, blend them into fine powder. Collect this powder with a brush in a jar. It can be kept for several months, preserving its aroma intact.
You can follow the same procedure for clementines and lemons.
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Oh wow I love citrus too and have tried I’m the past to make candied peel, but it was waiting too sugary. Will give this recipe a go!
Giulia! Mille Grazie! I’ve been waiting for this post! Beautiful photos! Cant wait to make candied oranges and lemons and, of course, the lemon and orange powders! I have my work cut out for me this week! xo M
I can already see you in the kitchen for the week! you’ll love it!!
I love citrus! Luckily I live in Florida where we have an abundance of it. Thank you for the wonderful recipes. xoxo
would really love to try the recipes
Yes I would ,I always used to try to make canned orange or peaches but after boiling they always had a white like veil on top didn’t understand why, but seeing from your recipe I think I got the trick and I will do my best to make them again.
Thank you.
Love your recipe. Looks delicious
Can i add any liquor to this candied orange peel. if the answer is yes, please also let me know what sort. Appreciate
I’m not sure about the liquor, Janet, as I feel it might interfere with the sugar balance. Better to avoid it, and use it in the preparations where you’ll add also the candied orange peels!
I am very glad to find your site. Just came back from a trip to the Tuscany, purchased some whole candied orange peel from an artisan shop specialized in pennaforte in Siena. What a wonderful treat eating a bit as dessert after meals. Since unlikely will go back very soon, I must find a way to make my own. The question for you is: could reducing the amount of sugar in the syrup make the final product less sweet? the stuff I got from Italy isn’t very sweet, but very flavourful.
Hello Phoebe, that amount of sugar is essential to have perfect candied peels. It will be still not as sickeningly sweet at the store bought candied peel!
I made several jars of this candied orange peel and was wondering how long it lasts in the fridge. I made them last March 2020 and they are and have been in the fridge since then. Are they bad should I be throwing away the six jars?
They should be totally fine, as the sugar preserves them even outside the fridge. So they are still good! 🙂
Hi Giulia! Would honey from the local beekeeper be effective for preventing crystallization or hardening of the peels, or would only acacia honey do?
Ciao Connie! yes, that honey would work as well! let me know how it works!
I can not use sugar , I wonder if stevia can do the job.
unfortunately I am not sure you could use it, it is the chemical structure of the sugar that allows us to get candiend peel
I am so glad I found your site. I love the details and the instructions for this recipe. Thanks for your and passion for cooking and sharing it with us.
thank you so so much Rachida!
Hi Giulia! Thank you for sharing your recipe! In your opinion, how does the method you describe (bringing the syrup to boil, leaving peel in it overnight, repeating over multiple days) compare to simmering the peel in the syrup for 1 – 1.5 hours (this is a method that I often see in cookbooks)? It looks like your method is gentler in that it’s less likely to break the peel, but I was wondering if it also yields a different taste?
Ciao Irina, I actually don’t know if the result would be the same. This is definitely more gentle, but I guess that the cooking down of the syrup every day adds something to the final result, too.
I think I found an answer to my question: I made candied peel by boiling it in syrup, and the result, while still good, definitely tastes “cooked”, like an overcooked orange. I think this was especially because I didn’t cool the peel in an ice bath when blanching and, but the boiling in syrup probably contributed to it too. I’ll try your version next and hope they will come out more zesty- and less boiled-tasting!
In a tropical country like mine (India) it is an option to sun dry the peels until they are brittle and then powder them
ah that is brilliant! just like what we do with sun dried tomatoes in the summer!
what can we do without citrus fruit, and that’s how we learn to make from the peels powder, I had no idea, you could dry orange peels and make a powder, now I’ve learned something new. thank you.
Dear Guilia,
I just returned from a trip to Lago Maggiore where I had the most amazing cauliflower steak, on top of pesto, with candied orange peel one evening for dinner! It was life changing! Now I would like to make my own candied orange peel, and of course would like to use your recipe. I want to be certain I understand your instructions. Will I bring the peel to a boil and shut it off, every day for 7- 10 days until it reaches the desired the consistency?
Thanks for your guidance.
Jan Jones
Hello Jan, exactly, this is the procedure to follow! let me know if you have more questions!
Dear Giulia,
I am ready to jar my candied orange peels- and am very excited to do so! I bought the canning supplies today and every variety I looked at said NOT to put the jars in the oven. Now I am petrified to do so! Do you think I would ruin my peels if I canned them in the traditional way of putting them in a simmering water bath, once they are sealed in the jar? Or, should I throw caution to the wind and put them in the oven? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
thank you,
Jan
Hello Janice, don’t worry, you can still can the orange peels in the traditional way, by putting them in a simmering water bath. In this case I usually leave them in the simmering water for 20 minutes, then let them cool down in the water!
Thank you for holding my hand through this recipe! Tonight is “canning” night! I will send pictures to your Instagram when I am finished! The candied orange peels are fantastic!!!
Can you do this wth the peeled segments? Make them like those cherries in fruitcake. If you can after the segments are done could you dip them in a flavored suger syrup so that it forms a candy shell? Like a lollypop but without the stick. Once the hard coating melts away when you eat it you’d have a candied segment to munch on.
Ciao Oriana, I actually don’t know, it sounds like a completely different recipe altogether, but so so yummy!
Have you succeeded in doing this without sugar by using only honey?
I fear this recipe would not work with honey!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I LOVE orange peel and use it in loads of things including my morning oatmeal & cocoa!
I use both candied for Lebkuchen, fruit mince pies, fruit cakes & for dipping in real Guatemalan chocolate.
I have a friend who own a juice bar. She has loads of citrus peel. She gave me 1250 grams! I looked all over the Internet to find a recipe that would give me a formula…. NADA! until I found your site.
I live in rural Guatemala where I’m a volunteer high school science teacher. There is NO where other than a 6 hour Chicken bus ride to the City to find orange peel. So finding your recipe I have made my own. I dried half and candied the other half. It will last me a year. Maybe. If I run out, my friend has loads more I can have.
Gracias,
Anne
Hello Anne! your message made my day, and it made me smile! thank you so much! so happy the recipe has been helpful!
And as a high school science teacher you might have enjoyed the scientific experiment too! And congratulations for what you do!
All my best
I have made Seville orange marmalade for years and years, fine tuning the recipe to make just the type I like, used to be more Tawny (like Wilkins or Frank Cooper in the UK) but now I prefer a fresher zestier version. But I digress, over the years I have realised that I often have to sieve out quite a lot of marmalade peel, or else the jars have the wrong ratio of marmalade to peel. I realised a good 5 years ago that what I was actually making was a form of candied orange peel that I could then use in fruit cakes, chocolate brownies and all sorts of other wonderful sweets and puddings. But even I would end up each year with more and more peel than I could back with … I tend to make up to 100 1lb jars of marmalade each January hence lots of left over peel. This year I planned ahead and instead of cutting all the orange peel into marmalade size slithers Io cut half of the peel into thicker and longer strips and now have candied orange peel ready to oven dry and dip into chocolate to make delicious organic homeade bitter chocolate and orange bites for Easter… I hope that they last till then!
Hi Brian, they sound so delicious! I’m not sure they will last until Easter, though! 😀
Hi, I’m a little late to the party here, but I love your approach: rather than boiling the life out of the fruits and risk turning them into a boiled hard sweet; this is so much more in keeping with ‘slow’ cooking. I also have a question: would this work with whole oranges? I imagine it might take a few days longer?
Hi Sue, actually I have never tried with whole oranges, but I guess it would take longer, and you’d need more syrup. They are very soft inside, not sure they might work. Maybe kumquats?
Thank you for the reply, Giulia. I think I might give it a go with whole oranges. I’ll let you know how I get on! S
great! I’m really curious to know the results!
The New York Times Cooking page has a recipe for Cold Candied Oranges — Might be just what you’re looking for?
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020812-cold-candied-oranges?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=3
Ah well, I tried. For about five days it looked like it was going well. On the sixth day, something inexplicable happened: the oranges turned into what I can only describe as resembling little orange skulls! The insides obviously just collapsed. No matter: I’ve just run them through the processor with some of the liquid to turn it into a sort-of marmalade. Works ok on toast: I had some this morning! We live and learn, eh? Next time, I shall follow your instructions to the letter!
Ciao Sue, the marmalade is such a good idea not to waste the oranges! I think your idea is good for smaller citrus fruits, like kumquats! anyway, it was worth trying it!
Will the dried method work with limes (regular limes, not key limes)? I am thinking this would make a great addition to the “Mule drink kits” I give out as gifts.
Geeze, I was taught to just slice peels thin, roll in sugar & dry in the oven. I don’t ‘get’ all of this simple effort. LOL
You are right, that is another method and it works, but with completely different results. If you want transparent, melt in your mouth candied orange and citron peels, to preserve in a glossy syrup over the months, that is the method to follow!
I made the candied orange peel.
The peels were good and I am looking forward to finding ways to use them. But the liquid is even better! The best way I could describe it is manmade orange honey. I am not a huge fan of honey but I am looking forward to using this liquid as a honey substitute.
this makes me so happy! I often use the syrup diluted in water to brush a sponge cake!
I’ve so far followed your recipe to a T, from storing peels in water to the third blanching and the simmering, but… It’s been over an hour now and the whites are not translucent, they’re a bit less white but not translucent by far. I’ve used Calif. navel oranges, if that matters—-it’s also late in the season, for citrus (mid-june). Any suggestions? Otherwise, after some more simmering (forty minutes?) I’ll skip to drain and cool on a rack and start next phase and hope they go translucent in the sugared water.
Hi, don’t worry, go for the next phase, they will eventually get translucent. And good luck!
Ah, thanks. I went on and just finished second day’s boil, and yes they are getting more translucent. Also, saved the last day’s soaking water for the raw peels; it goes great as the water for cooking my morning oats, adds a lovely hint of orange.
I’m 8 days in, being the second Tuesday since starting this recipe (last Monday); It looks great, smells great, but the syrup isn’t all that much thicker, although the peels themselves have more of a jeweled look. As specified, I’ve been raising the pot to a boil and then turning it off, daily. Is this going to be one of those recipes where it comes together “all of a sudden” (sort of like new growth on my rosemary plant)? Also, I looked up your English language references, Domenica and Rosetta, and neither of them use a 7 day process so I’m wondering where this long act came from? Wouldn’t it make sense to do multiple shorter boilings? Or, should I be allowing the pot to boil for a minute or two, rather than immediately turning it off as it comes to a boil? I’m also wondering if my tall and narrow (vintage Pyrex 9 C coffee pot) is to blame, perhaps not evaporating enough of the syrup between boilings as not enough is exposed?
I made them, following the instructions up until the 6th day, when I started bringing them to a boil twice a day, roughly 12 hours apart (for the last four days). They are beautiful to behold in their jar. They taste swell. They cook well and contribute to the recipe’s flavor, and the orange-y syrup is great for sweetening lemonade, but… I won’t be making them again.
First off, not having access to your Italian language resources, I can’t see why it’s a 7 day process, especially given that your other two Italian (but English speaking) resources do it in one day. Secondly, when going to use them I have to scrape off each peel to remove the honey-like syrup and there is still so much remaining it has to be affecting the measurement of the desired amount, while adding unwanted sugar to the recipe. At the end of the day, this recipe doesn’t hit the mark.
I’m sorry it disappointed you. I got the recipe and the method from a pastry chef, an expert, and believe me it works. There are obviously quicker methods, but they have different results, especially for the conservation of the final product.
Brilliant recipe. I make it every year and dip the peels in dark chocolate. Give them to friends every year. It is a bit of work but well worth it. Once you make them, you will make them every year. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
thank you Mimi! you are right, once you start making them, it is impossibile to stop!
Hi! I just finished my last boil with the honey. So far the peel looks perfect. It terms of preserving these, are you simply sterilizing the jars in the oven, and just placing the fruit in afterwards? Or are you actually canning these peels by sterilizing the jars first, then placing them (with the fruit inside) inside a boiling pot of water? I would like to give some as gifts.
Thank you!
Sherrie
Hi Sherrie, the best practice is to sterilize the jars first, then place the jars with the fruit inside inside a boiling pot of water. If you do not want to boil them, try putting them in a hot oven, as explained here: https://en.julskitchen.com/preserves/citrus-marmalade
Hi Giulia,
Thanks for all your recipes!
I have followed your instructions with 300g of peels, 750g of water and 750g of sugar. This evening will be the 5th day for my candied orange peels and the surface is already crystallising (I have to break it this morning), the syrup level is low, reaching some of the peels but thicker but still not thick as honey.
What would you do if this happens to you?
Hi Elsie, I’m so sorry I just got back to you. I hope you solved the problem. If that happens, I would add some more syrup made with 50% of sugar and 50% of water, and add also the honey or glucose syrup.
Thanks for your answer Giulia. I’ve tried to push the peels as much as possible and put some syrup from the pot on them several times a day (I’m not sure that was helpful, but at least, I have done something!). I’ve boiled them on the evening (5th day), broken the sugar surface in the morning and went for the last boil with honey on the afternoon as the viscosity seemed right, and made my jars. I don’t know why it took only 6 days but it was the perfect timing as they were ready for Christmas eve! And they are delicious!
Thanks for your recipe and your advices Giulia!
I’m happy that eventually you got a good result!
I was looking for a recipe for marmalade made from orange rinds when I found your post.
As I live in the North East of England I’ve been freezing my organic orange and citrus rinds. Then zesting them straight from frozen. This gives me the delicious scent and flavour when added to dishes.
My grandmother used to dry the rinds in her fireside oven, using the dried peel to start the fire. But orange powder is new to me. I don’t know if that retains more flavour and aroma than frozen.
This batch I’m experimenting adding more liquid and cutting the rind smaller as a Marmalade. The rind is alway my favourite part! Happy New Year.
I really like the idea of freezing the rinds and zesting from the freezer, probably it is even more fresher than the powder. I’ll try this method, too!
I thought I would try to provide a little context for those of you wondering why people like me would want to spend so many days making candied fruit. Please first check out the wonderful candied fruits at Florian and Lilamand Confiseries in France. These guys candy whole fruits to a beautiful translucent glory. Also for English speakers check out David Leibovitz’s blog circa 2008 where he writes about a very similar method that takes 7 days. This 7 day method is the “classic” way it is done. Yes you can use shorter methods if that appeals to you and please do. However for people like me that live in Texas USA, they really sell crap candied fruit here. American fruit cake mix of candied fruit is horrific. Sure King Arthur Flour has some expensive stuff that is okay, but nothing really beats this method if you have tasted fine Italian and French candied fruits ( fruits confits). Since I can’t bop down to the local Confiserie (candied shop) and have blood orange peels I don’t want to waste and it is the pandemic, why not?? “Slow food” has become more a thing. I just call it good food.
For the author, cut candied fruit in square chunks before or after candying? Thoughts?
Thank you so much for your comment Josephine, providing a fascinating context as to why it is worth spending some time candying your own peels.
I would candy the peels and cut them afterward, I think it will preserve their texture.
This is my first time using your recipe. I am really excited and anxiously awaiting the final results. Should the final boil, which is 30 minutes be done after the syrup has reached the brix measurement of 72?
Hello Jennie. I usually check before and after the boiling, so I stop when I have the 72 bix degrees.
Thank you for for the information. I am at 71&1/2 brix so I will do my final boil today. This process has been SO much fun.
I have made two delicious batches following this, but today I’m faced with about 600 g of peels and no time to preserve them by candying. Do you think it would be ok to freeze the slices until I’m ready to proceed in about a month? I wonder if that would spoil the texture of the finished product.
On a side note, making orange flavored olive oil has been another wonderful way to preserve some orange peel. I got the idea from a middle eastern cooking class by Ottolenghi, and it’s a great complement to candied peel to give you more options in the kitchen. I usually cut pieces of peel (wide but with little to no white) from whole oranges before juicing them, and then just add them to hot oil and let sit for at least half hour. For maximum flavor, I take just enough oil to cover the peels I have. The resulting oil is delicious and so is the softened peel. Because it has no added sugar, it works well as a garnish for both sweet and savory dishes.
Hi Adele, yes, you can freeze the peels, it shouldn’t have an effect on the finished texture of the product.
And thank you for sharing the olive oil with orange peel, I so want to try!!
Looking forward to making them again this year. I have friends who ask if they are going to receive their chocolate covered orange peel. This is the best recipe – if you want to make candied orange peel, this is the recipe to use.
I was wondering if this process could be used to make candied ginger. Have you ever candied ginger this way?
Hello Mimi, I’m so happy the recipe has been successful! I have never tried candying ginger, but it should give exactly the same result. It might me much quicker, but I’m sure it works exactly in the same way!
Made my annual candied orange peel dipped in chocolate and they were again a huge hit. This is the best recipe for candied orange peel. This year I didn’t want to wait to collect the peels so I used a juicer and got all the peels at once and had fresh orange juice as a side benefit.
Currently making lemon peels.
thank you so much Mimi, so happy you are making these candied peels year after year!
I made candied lemon peel and they are great / wonderful in tea.
Making another batch. Can I freeze them if they are covered with their syrup (with acacia honey)? How long will they keep in the refrigerator covered in their syrup?
Hi Mimi! yes you can freeze them! I keep my open jars in the fridge, and they last for months!
I made candied lemon peel and they are great / wonderful in tea.
Making another batch. Can I freeze them if they are covered with their syrup (with acacia honey)? How long will they keep in the refrigerator covered in their syrup?
Two years on and my candied oranges are perfectly persevered in a heavily, heavenly, citrus flavored viscous syrup. It wasn’t the candied orange I set out to make, but what a delightful candied orange peel recipe I’ve ended up with. Sometimes you have to let time do its magic. Two years and the four peels (two orange peels) that remain are divine! I will start on a new batch, soon. I should have known to wait and let time do its work!
what I love about these peels is that they keep extremely well over the years. I made a panforte with peels candied 3 years ago and they were still firm, bright, delicious!
Preserved, not persevered. The orange peels are preserved, they have not perservered. Well, they might have, but they are preserved nonetheless.
Hi Giulia,
I know this post is old but I just wanted to say thanks. I have my own citrus trees in pots and I couldn’t bring myself to throw the rinds, it’s seems like such a waste. The first time I successfully candied the peels was with your method, the few other faster methods i tried yielded in really hard inedible peels that I still ate, :).
I was wondering why u use this slow method and wanted to ask but the comments answered my question.
Also I loved reading about you passion for citrus and winter season, I feel the same, and thank you for sharing your experience in Italy. I probably will never be there but feels good to share the passion of citrus with cultures from other parts of the world!
Ciao Sarah, I’m so so so happy you tried the recipe and found it efficient and successful! and how lucky you are to have your own citrus trees!
Made candied orange peel and candied lemon peel again this year. A friend has a Meyer Lemon tree in her yard and send lemons to me to use. Fantastic! I also received a melanger this year so I made some of the chocolate from nibs that I used to dip the orange peels. Dipped the lemon peels in white chocolate. Your recipe is the best!!!!!
oh wow, what a fantastic combination! so happy this recipe is still working so well, and now I crave lemon peels covered in white chocolate!
Hi there, I started to candied the orange and lemon peels, I am on day 3 now, could You please advise how to sterilise the jars after they are filled with peels in pot with water, should the jars be completely submerge in water and for how long, what’s the intensity of heat recommended. Sorry if You mentioned this in text already but I couldn’t find it. 🙂
Thank You
Hello Alexandra, I put the jars in a large pot, arrange a dish cloth among them so that they are not going around in the pan, and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the jars cool down in the water! Done!
Thanks a lot! I will keep You updates how the oranges turn out, it smells amazing already.
This is the BEST recipe for candied orange peel. I make it every year. This year rather than using Acacia honey (did not like glucose), I used invert sugar syrup as it keeps things soft. You can do a web search for Chef Eddy Van Damme’s recipe or get it on Amazon. It worked great and kept it vegan for me.
I also have a melanger and made my own coating chocolate for the orange peels. Used Ecuadorian cocoa beans. Turned out great!
Thank you for this recipe – I use it every year and it never fails.
Thank you so so much Mimi, this makes me so happy! Next time I’ll try with the inverted sugar syrup, too!
Also, I’d want to be your friend or neighbor to try your orange peels coated with chocolate!
Giulia,
Thank you for your woderful recipe
I will be starting my batch this weekend.
Hopefully this will be better than the one l have been using.
Jan
Thank you, Jan! Enjoy the process, I find it so relaxing and satisfying!
Hi Giulia, do you know how this recipe would turn out using thick lemon skin that has already been zested (using a Microplane)?
Hello Angela, I am sure it will work, even though the final result will be a bit less spectacular because the peels will miss their bright yellow color!
I make these orange peels every year. Last spring when organic oranges were plentiful, I purchased a lot of them. Used a juicer and then processed the peels in the ice water/boiling water process. Dried and weighed them (1,296 grams) and double bagged them in freezer bags snd froze them.
I processed them to 73 Brix and used invert sugar rather than honey. What was interesting is that freezing made the peels more intense. Think I will freeze peels before using them now.
thank you so much for your feedback, Mimi! I’m so happy this recipe is working so well for you!
I’ve been making your Candied Orange Peels for several years now with a few mods to the recipe including more honey. After making them I let them dry in a dehydrator and then coat the peels in chocolate.
I was wondering what, if anything, to do with all the remaining syrup and wondering if it could be reused to make more candied orange peels.
Thanks so much for such a wonderful recipe.
Hello Edward, I’m so glad to hear this. I usually keep the leftover syrup in a sealed jar and use it in the summer otherwise make cocktails or sweeten drinks. You can also use it to soak a sponge cake.
I like the “cocktails” idea.
I guess is could use it as a fortified simple syrup
Ed