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! Use this method to make any kind of candied citrus peel.
How To 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
And this applies to all varieties of candied citrus peel. Here are a few ideas:
- As garnish for pies, cakes and cupcakes
- Chopped up and added to cookies, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, scones, etc.
- Sprinkled over ice cream or yogurt
- As garnish for citrus-flavored drinks
- Finely chopped and added to streusel topping for muffins and cakes
- Dipped in chocolate for an elegant sweet treat (dip candied orange peels in chocolate to make orangettes, a classic French confection)
- and whatever else your imagination can think of!
Candied Orange Peel Recipe
*NOTE: The process is the same for making any kind of candied citrus peel.
Let’s get started!
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!
Note: 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.
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!
Use your homemade candied orange peel in some of our favorite recipes:
- German Stollen
- Traditional English Christmas Pudding
- German Lebkuchen
- Traditional English Mincemeat
- Traditional English Eccles Cakes
- Scottish Dundee Cake
- Aachener Printen
- Italian Panettone
- Welsh Bara Brith
- Irish Barmbrack
Be sure to also try our homemade Candied Ginger!
Candied Orange Peel
Ingredients
- 3 Valencia or Navel oranges and 4 lemons (can also use the equivalent of grapefruits, Meyer lemons and limes, or any citrus of your choice, thoroughly washed and scrubbed (as citrus is highly sprayed, I recommend using organic)
- 2 cups 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.
- 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.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!Note: 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.Yields approximately 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 INFO BELOW IS FOR THE ENTIRE BATCH (NOT PER SERVING)
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet January 9, 2017
Laurie says
Soft ball temp is 235F, for anyone wondering. The prep and cooking time took much longer for me. I’m not sure, tasting the final result and considering the amount of effort required, that it’s any better than if I had bought sugar-coated orange and lemon jujubes. Sugar-coating each individual piece of peel was tedious until I had a flashback to shake n bake. Just put sugar in a freezer bag, add a few cooked peels at a time, seal the bag, and give it a shake, then fish them out. Works like a charm. Just take care not to burn yourself with any hot drips. When finished, pour the sugar that’s in the bag through a sieve. This takes out the lumps and any remaining bits of peel and leaves you with a quantity of sugar that you can use again. Thank you for the recipe! Now to make your stollen!
Louisa says
What did i do wrong? I peeled the fruits (i was using only 2 oranges and 1 lemon), boiled them, and then i halfed the sugar and water as i had only 3 fruits. After 20 minutes, my kitchen was full of smoke and the water and sugar turned black. Probably will have to throw away the pot :-(
Hillary says
It sounds like you didn’t have enough liquid in your pot. The water probably evaporated and the sugar burned on. Did you reduce the sugar/water mixture to a simmer after adding the citrus? I’ve made a half-batch with this recipe. I used the same amount of sugar and water. I just ended up with extra syrup. It won’t make your peels any more (or less) sweet. It’ll just be easier to work with.
Sue says
I’ve been making candied citrus peels for years, always removing as much pith as possible. This time I decided to leave some on. To make pith removal easier, I placed abt. 1 c. of water in a pyrex qt. measuring cup, put the sliced peel in and steamed/boiled on high for 3 min. I then placed peels in cool water to handle more easily, and BOY was it easy to remove that pith with my little paring knife!
Sandra says
This was a real easy and satisfying recipe. I used Meyer lemons which are sweeter so only did one boil. I dipped them in sugar and can’t wait for them to dry. What a wonderful way to use the entire lemon!
K Gill says
Fantastic! I’ve never cared for mincemeat, fruitcake, panettone, or stollen because the candied citrus peel always tasted “off” to me. Now with this delicious homemade version, I can enjoy those seasonal treats!
For people who have been wondering about the yield of this recipe, here are my results:
10 small navel oranges plus 12 small lemons (about 2 pounds of each) produced 24 ounces (680 grams) of candied peel. Thus, I would estimate that this recipe, as written, would produce approximately 8 ounces of candied peel.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, K Gill, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you! Thanks also for sharing that yield info.
Rosie Eliot says
Ooh, so excited to find your recipe and reading the comments. My citrus peels have just come to the first boil.
Meg Wood says
I’m excited about making your Stolen again this year. We were like rabid animals last year devouring it, so we’re getting prepared, pot of citrus peels bubbling away on the stove right now. Thanks for all your advice.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Lol, Meg, that’s awesome! Happy baking and Merry Christmas!
alimak says
Unbelievable!! Never buying the stuff again, really easy to do and the FLAVOURS!!! Out of this world.
Thank you!
PatC says
Excellent recipe..I only used Orange..love it…I put it straight in the Mason jar..I need it for Panettone 👏👏
SCOTT GARRISON says
Thank you Kimberly. Went to Whole Paycheck and bought a bag each of oranges, lemons, and limes…all organic. Made way more than the recipe calls for, I doubled the sugar and water and just kept an eye on it. I ignored the instructions on time and attempted to bring it to a softball stage. I made it to about 219° F and decided that was enough before all of the liquid evaporated . I figured it certainly boiled for 20 min, I’m sure I made it to 45 min, and since I wasn’t watching the clock it could have made it almost to 75-90 min.
But I pulled them all out, let them drain, saved the remaining pint or so of liquid for adult beverages and plan on finally making mince meat (been dreaming of it for decades – I’ll start with yours, comparing it to Hannah Glasses ), plum pudding, and some of my favorite German Christmas treats. (We have spoken in the past and I love Bayern so I am looking forward to Lebkuchen and Stollen).
Let me say this was beyond easy but I am not sure I will be successful with the recipes I just referenced. Why? My wife thinks I have made delicious candy. Let me say it is going fast.
Vielen danke
Scott
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Scott! It really is good stuff, I can’t blame your wife one bit :) I’m happy you’ll be making the mincemeat, Lebkuchen, and Stollen and really look forward to hearing what you think of them. Happy baking!
Duncan Macdonald says
This comment perfectly describes my process and experience as well. I was surprised to learn that I owned a candy thermometer. I added extra water and sugar to cover the peels. I pulled the peels out a few degrees before soft ball and a little after translucency. Next time I’ll set the stove to a more aggressive simmer.
Jeanette T says
I’m preparing to make your Best Authentic Stollen. Question regarding the sugar. I have organic sugar and caster sugar. Does it matter which one I use for sprinkling on the peel? As caster sugar is finer will it mess up and dissolve too quickly on the hot peel?
Also, does it matter which sugar I use for the cooking process? I’m so excited about this. I bake bread a lot and I give it away to friends, family and clients. One of my clients asked me to make her some stollen bread for Christmas. So, here I am, excited to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing your recipes and knowledge. Priceless!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jeanette, you can use either sugar for the candied peel; it really doesn’t matter because the peel is going to be baked in the Stollen anyway. For the Stollen itself I would use the regular granulated sugar, not caster. Happy baking and please let us know what you think!
Erica Fath says
How much does this recipe make? I want to make your German Stollen recipe (2 batches) and want to make my own peel. So I am looking to know how many batches of this recipe I need to have enough for the stollen. I can’t seem to find you mention anywhere how much it makes.
KGill says
Erica: From my experience, this recipe produces approximately 8 ounces of candied peel.
Theresa says
I accidentally left them simmering in the syrup for 3 hours. I expect they will be 3 times as awesome! They are in the dehydrator now.
Lee says
Its delicious! I had to restrain myself from eating most of it while its draining on rack! I love orange peels but usually has the dried sour version for snack, which is different from this. As its my first time eating it, can I just ask if the peels supposed to absorb all the sugar coating and it becomes soft and translucent as a final product?Mine does that, and im just not sure if im doing it correctly. Or, im doung some steps wrong? thank you.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Lee! Yes, the longer the peels simmer the more translucent they’ll become – totally normal.
Erik says
I made these last night in preparation to make your mincemeat recipe this weekend, and OMG they’re so delicious. I have never had them before, and I’m now hooked. I’m going to have to make another batch, because these aren’t going to last much until the weekend. The cutting is a little tedious, but super easy otherwise and well worth it. Thanks for these delicious, authentic recipes!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, Erik, thanks for the feedback! Now just wait until you try them in baked goods…positively swoon-worthy!
Rock says
Thank you for all your time and great tip
I’m had so much work and the baking is only my meditation, will try tonight ,
Thank you
Rock
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
You’re welcome, Rock, and happy cooking! :)