Homemade Candied Orange Peel

For the Panettone next week, I decided make my own candied orange peel. I've been curious about it but so far have been too lazy to make it. I figured now is as good a time as any.

There are a lot of recipes out there and most of them have similar instructions. The only big variance is the sugar amount. I finally settled on a recipe from BrightEyedBaker. I'm not familiar with this website but I like that she has the least amount of sugar compared to some others. Even with the smaller sugar amount, I still reduced it by 1/4 cup. I also like that her recipe comes with really good step by step photo instructions.

This turned out pretty easy and now I wondered why it took me this long to try. I'm already planning on making this again and use chocolate next time. Doesn't chocolate-dipped orange peel sound good?

Instructions:

1. Wash 3 navel oranges.

2. With a sharp knife, cut a bit into the oranges from top to bottom, along 4 different sides. I don't know how to describe this process in words so hopefully the below shot gives you an idea. Then I use my fingers to pry into the sections and peel them off.

3. Do the same with the other 2 oranges.

4. Peel the white pith from the skin. I laid each section flat on the cutting board and hold it down with my left hand. Then with my right hand (as I'm right-handed), hold the knife parallel to the cutting board and carefully peel the pith off.

5. Slice the peel into thin strips.

6. Cover with water and bring it to a boil. Repeat the process 2 more times (3 times total). I'm not sure what this step is for - maybe to soften them and get rid of any bitterness from leftover pith?

7. Mix 1 1/4 cup of sugar with 3/4 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until the sugar has dissolved. This will take about 10 minutes. Then add the orange peel. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Do not stir through this process to avoid crystallization.

Towards the end of cooking it will look like this.

The orange peel will look translucent.

Close up shot of the peel.

8. The last step of the recipe is to drain the peel and left it to dry on a cooling rack for 4-5 hours.

Store in a jar in a cool, dry place. Enjoy!