Candied Orange Peel
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Making your own candied orange peel and candied lemon peel is super easy and the difference between homemade and store-bought is absolutely mind-blowing! Leave the store-bought stuff on the shelf because nothing, and I mean NOTHING compares to homemade! This candied orange peel recipe can be used to make any variety of candied citrus peel, including orange, lemon, lime, and grapefruit.
Why You Should Make Candied Orange Peel
If you’ve never made your own candied orange peel get ready to be absolutely dazzled!
Today we’re going to make delicious use of a portion of the citrus fruit you may normally discard by making candied citrus peels. Think of these delightful sweet treats like citrus flavor on steroids!
While candied orange and candied lemon are the the most commonly used, candied grapefruit and lime also have a delicious place in the mix and I’m going to demonstrate the process using those as well.
There are a few reasons you should make your own candied peel: 1) The store-bought stuff is generally not organic and citrus fruits are highly sprayed with pesticides and fungicides. 2) It’s made with a lot of chemicals. 3) It’s not fresh. 4) Most of it tastes bad. Like really bad. I regularly have readers request recommendations for good brands of candied citrus and the best recommendation that I can offer is to make your own! Because once you do and taste the difference, you’ll never buy it again.
The good news is, it is SO easy to make your own! And it keeps for a long time, especially if you freeze it. The flavor is 100% better than store-bought and will bring your baked goods to life.
How to Use Candied Orange Peel
There are so many delicious ways you can use candied orange peel and any candied citrus peel variety, whether orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit. (Be sure to also try my Candied Ginger). Here just are a few ideas:
- Baked in pies, cakes, muffins and cupcakes (see my Stollen, Figgy Pudding, Lebkuchen, Dundee Cake, Bara Brith, Barmbrack, Eccles Cakes, and Panettone)
- Added to Scottish Shortbread, cookies, and scones
- Sprinkled over ice cream or Homemade Greek Yogurt
- Added to Healthy Homemade Granola
- As garnish for citrus-flavored drinks
- Use in traditional English Mincemeat
- Baked into waffles and pancakes (see my Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles)
- Dipped in chocolate for an elegant sweet treat (dip candied orange peels in chocolate to make orangettes, a classic French confection)
Candied Orange Peel Recipe
Let’s get started!
*NOTE: The process is the same for making any kind of candied citrus peel.
Select the best citrus fruits possible and give them a thorough scrubbing and washing. We’re not sticklers about buying all of our produce organic, but we do stick to organic for certain items that are highly sprayed and/or waxed. And in the case of citrus fruits, if I’m using the peels for zesting or candying, I use and recommend organic.
Slice both ends of the orange. Cut the peel on each each into 4 or more vertical segments, depending on the size of the fruit. Peel off each segment of rind.
Note: You can remove a some of the white pith, though not necessary. The white pith has a bitter flavor, so keep that in mind, but also keep in mind that the thinner your peels the harder/more leathery they will be. The purpose for blanching the peels (boiling in water and discarding the water) is to eliminate some of the bitterness. If leaving the pith on you can repeat the blanching procedure 2 or 3 times to reduce the bitterness.
The process is the same for any citrus fruit. Candied grapefruit peel, candied lemon peel, candied lime peel, candied mandarin or clementine peel…they’re all delicious!
Slice the peels into 1/4 inch wide strips.
Keep the peeled citrus for eating, cooking or juicing.
Boil the peels in water in a pot for 15 minutes. Drain the peels in a colander, rinse and then drain again. Discard the water from the pot.
**Note: To further reduce the bitter flavor repeat this step.
Add the sugar and fresh water to the pot and bring it to a boil. Boil it for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the citrus peels, reduce the heat and simmer for about 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peels become translucent and the liquid becomes lightly syrupy.
Use a slotted spoon to remove a few of the peels at a time and let the excess syrup drip off for a few seconds. Place the hot, wet peels in the bowl of sugar and toss to coat. If you’re making a large batch it’s easiest to place the sugar in a ziplock bag and shake the peels in it.
Spread the candied citrus peels out on a wire rack to cool and dry completely, 1-2 days.
Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, the candied citrus peel will keep for at least a month. They’ll keep even longer in the fridge and for a few months frozen. (I usually keep them in a ziplock bag in the freezer and then conveniently grab whatever I need.)
Note: If you find your candied citrus peel gets hard after a while don’t worry – they will soften up beautifully as they bake in whatever recipe you add them to!
Tip: To keep the candied peels even softer you can limit the drying time, skip the final sugar coating step and put the peels in a ziplock bag and either refrigerate or freeze them.
Orange Simple Syrup
Finally, DON’T DISCARD THE CITRUS SYRUP!
This is a wonderful citrus-flavored simple syrup to add to your drinks for a wonderful kick of citrus flavor!
Enjoy!
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Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients
- 3 large oranges (can also use the equivalent of lemons, grapefruits, limes, or citrus of your choice, thoroughly washed and scrubbed; organic is recommended)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- Fine granulated sugar for coating
Instructions
- Slice both ends of the citrus fruits. Cut the peel on each each into 4 or more vertical segments, depending on the size of the fruit. Peel off each segment of rind. (You can remove a little of the white pith, though not necessary. The pith is bitter but the blanching process below will help reduce the bitterness. Note that if you remove the white pith, the thinner the peels are the harder and more leathery they will be when they’re candied.) Slice the peels into 1/4 inch wide strips. (Keep the peeled citrus for eating, cooking, juicing, etc)
- Boil the peels in a pot of water for 15 minutes. Drain the peels in a colander, rinse and then drain again. Discard the water from the pot.Repeat this process one or two more times to reduce the bitter flavor.
- Add the 1 cup of fresh water and the sugar to the pot and bring it to a boil. Boil it for a couple of minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Add the citrus peels, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45-60 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peels become translucent and the syrup becomes lightly syrupy (on a candy thermometer this will be be approximately soft ball stage).
- Use a slotted spoon to remove a few of the peels at a time and let the excess syrup drip off for a few seconds. Place the hot, wet peels in a bowl of sugar or a ziplock bag with sugar in it and toss/shake to coat.Spread the candied citrus peels out on a wire rack to cool and dry completely, 1-2 days. *Note: Tossing them in sugar and letting them dry is only necessary if you're storing them at room temp for an extended period of time. They can be used immediately in any recipe that calls for them. And any leftovers can be put in a freezer bag/container and frozen as is until the next time you need them.Stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, the candied citrus peel will keep for at least a month. They'll keep even longer in the fridge and can be frozen for several months.Yields roughly 8 ounces of candied citrus peel depending on peel thickness.
Notes
*If you’d like to make more candied citrus peel, simply increase the amount of water and sugar by the same 1:2 ratio.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet January 9, 2017
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I made the candied lemon and orange peels for the stollen recipe – all turned out terrific . Everyone enjoyed them !
One question. A few of my lemon peels turned out really tough – What did I do wrong ?
Thanks
I’m so glad, Mike, thank you! I’m not sure why only a few would be tough and not the rest. Usually if the peels are tough it’s because too much of the white pith was cut off from the outer peel or the peels simmered for too long. It sounds like it might have been the former.
Hey, my peel came out super mushy and wet. I’m trying to dehydrate them to save them but they still seem too soft. Any idea what I did wrong?
Thank you!
-Kevin
Hi Kevin, it sounds like the syrup didn’t get up to temp. It needs to get up to soft ball stage (235 F). At this point I would recommend freezing them in a ziplock freezer bag and you can still use them for baking.
Hi Kevin. I had the same problem when I first used this recipe years ago. Freezing works just fine if you’re planning on using your peel in baking. If like me, you had other plans for some of it, the moisture was a problem. I wanted to dip my peel in chocolate so it needed to be dryer. I found this method worked for me.
1.Leave your peel on their drying racks and
2.Set your oven to warm (around 100 degrees F)
3.Once your oven reaches temp, turn it off and place your sugared peel in the oven. 4.Let sit for an hour and test it’s dryness. If it’s still too wet, repeat as needed.
You can also leave the peel in the cold oven overnight after warming it and it will continue to air dry. Not ideal and having to wait is a pain it the butt but it works. The things we do for Christmas!
Is it alright to leave some of the fruit on them?
Hi Diana, the fresh fruit won’t preserve as well and is more likely to get moldy.
I use the syrup to make cranberry sauce. It’s wonderful!
First off, let me thank you again for sharing all of your amazing German recipes. I’ve been making them for years now and some are so popular that I get requests from family to ship clear across the country. As to this peel recipe, I’d like to share a little tip for those out there that are in my position and find it hard to collect enough just before the holidays. (there’s only my husband and I left in the household)
I start collecting my citrus peel earlier in the year by preparing it up to the cleaned and sliced stage. I then dehydrate it and seal in airtight bags and stick it in the freezer for good measure. When it comes time to start baking, i put the amount of frozen peel I want into a pot of cold water and let it sit overnight. I then continue on with your recipe as is, only making sure to boil and rinse it twice before getting to the sugar boil. I just make sure I adjust the amount of water/sugar water to cover the peel completely. Has worked well for me and we now don’t have to binge on fruit in December.
Happy Holidays! ……………..Angelika
Thank you so much, Angelika, it makes me so happy to hear that! :)
You can also after candied peels have dried dip into Chocolate; AMAZING!
It’s been a few years since I’ve made candied citrus, but I’m going to make your recipe and use it for making a white bark with dried cranberries and pistachios. It’s a delicious sweet and salty addition to our Christmas cookie plates! And then I will use the syrup in some sort of punch for Christmas Eve. Thank you for the recipe and Merry Christmas!
Hi, I made these yesterday and we love them! Time-consuming, but so delicious! A technical question – I found that after about half of the peels had been sugared, the sugar in the bowl had become moist, from bits of the syrup that hadn’t drained completely, and started sticking to the remaining peels in bigger clumps. It seemed impossible to have every drop of syrup drip off. Advice? Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Marge, thank you! I’d recommend using the method of placing them in a ziplock bag with sugar and shaking them.