Candied Orange Peel

This Candied Orange Peel recipe makes a delicious fruity snack for yourself or can be beautifully packaged in a pretty jar for a gift.   The taste resembles that of the childhood favorite packaged orange slices but fresher and stronger in flavor. While they do take a bit to cook down they are ridiculously simple to make.

This recipe for Candied Orange Peel is a tasty cure for a wicked sweet tooth while still getting the healthy benefits of fiber, vitamin C, and A .   Deliciously infused with ginger, clover, cinnamon, and vanilla the spiced flavor is amazing.  Chewy, sweet, spiced, slightly tart- they are quite addicting. I made 3 batches, keeping a small jar on hand for myself and several to gift to friends in these cute jars from Ikea.   When choosing fruit for this be sure and choose organic oranges to reduce your chances of being exposed to harmful pesticides.

How to Make Candied Orange Peel – Recipe and Tutorial

Ingredients:

• 4-5 large, thick skinned oranges
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 7-10 whole cloves
• 1/2 vanilla pod, split down middle or 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Slice oranges about 1/4″ thick, use a paring knife to remove the pulp inside of each slice, leaving  as much of the pith as you can.

2. Cut each ring into 4-6 pieces  depending on how long your want your candied peels.

3. In order to rid your pith and peel of bitterness you have to blanch them several times-3 to be exact. This simply means boiling them in a water bath, then draining.  Place all your peels in pan and cover with water, bring to a boil,  reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes,drain, and repeat for a total of 3 times.
4. Rinse pan well, set peels aside.
5. Combine sugar, water,  ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla in pot and bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat and add peels back in, simmer for  75-90 minutes-until peels start to become translucent.

7. Remove peels with a fork and place them on a cooling rack to drain and dry (with a piece of parchment beneath for easy clean up). I like to leave mine overnight.

8. Toss peels in sugar to coat well. Spread them back out on cooling rack and allow them to dry a few more hours.
9. Store in an airtight container.

Note: Don’t toss out your syrup! Place it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and use it to drizzle over pound cake, sweeten your hot or sweet iced tea, or  use it as a base for adult drinks- it has a wonderful flavor and will enhance many recipes.

Printable Recipe for Candied Orange Peel

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Candied Orange Peel

Candied Orange Peel Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Author Jody

Ingredients

• ▢ 4-5 large thick skinned oranges
• ▢ 3 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup water
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
• ▢ 3 cinnamon sticks
• ▢ 7-10 whole cloves
• ▢ 1/2 vanilla pod split down middle or 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

• Slice oranges about 1/4" thick, use a paring knife to remove the pulp inside of each slice, leaving  as much of the pith as you can.
• Cut each ring into 4-6 pieces  depending on how long your want your candied peels.
• In order to rid your pith and peel of bitterness you have to blanch them several times-3 to be exact. This simply means boiling them in a water bath, then draining.  Place all your peels in pan and cover with water, bring to a boil,  reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes,drain, and repeat for a total of 3 times.
• Rinse pan well, set peels aside.
• Combine sugar, water,  ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla in pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and add peels back in, simmer for  75-90 minutes-until peels start to become translucent.
• Remove peels with a fork and place them on a cooling rack to drain and dry (with a piece of parchment beneath for easy clean up). I like to leave mine overnight.
• Toss peels in sugar to coat well. Spread them back out on cooling rack and allow them to dry a few more hours.
• Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Don't toss out your syrup! Place it in a mason jar in the refrigerator and use it to drizzle over pound cake, sweeten your hot or sweet iced tea, or  use it as a base for adult drinks- it has a wonderful flavor and will enhance many recipes.

More Homemade Candy Recipes:

How to Make Divinity

Easy Peppermint Bark

How to Make Traditional Toffee