Candied Orange Peels

January 31, 2009  •  Desserts, Fruit

Oranges are a winter fruit, and this is a tasty way to use the peels which otherwise would just be pure waste. It’s also a fun thing for kids to help with, and they’ll be surprised that they can turn essentially a scrap into a sort of candy. Begin by using a vegetable peeler to remove just the very outer orange peel from two large navel oranges. While you continue with the recipe, the kids can snack on the oranges themselves. I then cut my peels into slightly smaller strips, although there’s no right or wrong size to the peels. Now here’s the important part – place them in a pot of cold water and bring them to a boil, then drain and repeat for a total of 4 times. This process removes the bitterness from the peels, leaving just a pleasant orange taste.For those of you who notice details, do you see the peels above are a different size? That’s because I got distracted when I made the first batch and burned the heck out of them. This is actually batch number two in the pot for me. Combine 1 1/2 cups of sugar with 3/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Add orange peels and on a very low flame, simmer for about 30-45 minutes, making sure the sugar water doesn’t start browning and burn (like mine did!). You’ll notice as they continue to cook that the peels become almost translucent in color, your clue that they are getting close. Quickly drain them and toss them in a covered container with about 1/2 cup of sugar to dust them. Spread in a single layer to cool and enjoy!

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