Homemade Candied Orange Peel
Bright citrus flavors like orange, lemon, and grapefruit can add so much pizzazz to a recipe. Take this concept one step further and incorporate candied orange peel into your next bake. This recipe works with most citrus fruits and is super easy!
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What Is Candied Orange Peel?
If you’ve never had candied orange peel before, basically we take big chunks of orange peel, pith and all, and cook the heck out of it. In the process, we’ll cook out the bitter compounds and introduce a whole lotta sugar.
Candied orange peel tastes like, well, candy. My son gobbles this stuff down! It’s soft and chewy with a deep citrus flavor and a crunchy, sugary exterior.
Choosing Your Fruit
While I’m framing this post and this recipe all around candied orange peel, this technique works with many citrus fruits. I’ve used lemons and grapefruit all with great success. However, I don’t think lime would work out because the peel is just too thin. But I truly don’t know.
When you’re picking out the fruit for making candied citrus peel, it’s all about the quality of the skin, since that’s our star. Look for unblemished skin with a bright color.
How To Make Candied Citrus Peel
Cut the peel off of the fruit, trying to avoid any flesh on the peel. You can cut the peel into any shape you like, but I usually do ¼ inch strips. Place the peel in a pot, cover with water, and boil. This step is crucial because we’re cooking out the bitter flavor compounds found in the pith.
Next we’ll make a simple syrup and simmer the peel in this syrup for a good while. In this step, the peel will become soft and soak up a lot of that sugar, leaving you with a sweet treat. You can even save the syrup when you’re done. It’s now infused with citrus oils!
Once the peel is done simmering in the syrup, toss it with some sugar to get that crunchy exterior and set it aside to dry for a day or two. I suppose you could skip this step, but I never do. Not only does the sugar provide crunch, it prevents the candied orange peel from sticking to itself.
Watch the Magic Happen
I promise you, making candied orange peel is crazy easy. But each step is very important in order to create a sweet, citrusy treat. Watch this step by step video that will show you the different stages of the recipe.
As I keep mentioning, the technique is the same, no matter what citrus fruit you choose to work with. Unlike other recipes, there’s a lot of wiggle room here. Swap out the citrus peel and change up the quantity with ease!
Related Reading: Easy Watermelon Cake & Frosting
Recipes Using Candied Citrus Peel
Now that you’ve got your delicious candied citrus peel ready to go, what are you going to do with it? Ben would recommend that you just go hog wild on it. But if you want to use your creation in a bake, check out these ideas:
- Saffranskrans
- Lemon Blueberry Cake
- Grapefruit Cake
- Orange Cardamom Biscotti
- Vegan Lemon & Vanilla Macarons
More Ideas For Candied Orange Peel
I love coming up with new ideas, so here are a few that you might want to try. Candied orange peel would taste amazing dipped in chocolate! I would cut the peel into larger chunks. When they are dry, dip in melted chocolate, let that set, then enjoy.
My brother-in-law gets credit for this next idea though. Mix a bit of food safe citric acid powder with the sugar, then toss the finished candied peel in that mixture. It would be similar to a Sour Patch Kids candy.
Enjoy!
Candied orange peel is delicious and easy to make, plus it’s so versatile. You can enjoy it all on its own, or use it in delicious recipes. Even better, you can use this technique with almost any citrus fruit. Which begs the question, which fruit will you candy first?
I sincerely hope you find this recipe as fun and useful as I do. If you dig the whole vibe here on Bakes & Blunders, go ahead and follow me on Instagram for even more yummy photos, tips, and general baking shenanigans.
Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups water 12 fl oz
- 2 cups sugar divided, 14 oz
Instructions
- Peel the orange and cut the peel into ¼ inch thick slices. Place in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover by one inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- In the same saucepan, add 1 ½ cups of water and 1 ½ cups (10.5 oz) of sugar to a boil. Add the orange peel and simmer for 30 minutes, or until softened.
- Use a slotted spoon to sieve the orange peel out of the syrup. Toss the orange peel with the remaining sugar and transfer to a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Let the peel dry for a day or two.
Notes
- Use this same method with grapefruit or lemons.
My Favorite Products For This Recipe
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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