I’m not really a big sweets person, which is in direct opposition to Kurt, who could easily sustain himself on candy for the next 20 years. Fruit? Vegetables? Forget about it — he’ll take a Snickers, some Cadbury Eggs and a Twix, thank you! The *slight* detour in his eating philosophy is his love of candied orange peel. Sure, it’s coated in sugar, but it’s still part of the fruit, right?! Well, while its nutritional content is debatable, its tastiness is not.
These little candied delicacies are a breeze to prepare, although to get any sort of volume (say for a tea party, where I think they’d be a really sweet addition to those finger sandwiches) will require quite a bit of fruit!
Candied Zest
Adapted from Cooking Light
2 medium-sized oranges
2 medium-sized lemons (or limes or grapefruit)
½ cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons water
Use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove zest from citrus in long, continuous strips
Scrape bitter white pith from the back of peel with a small paring knife; discard pith
Cut peel into no larger than ¼-inch-thick strips (we liked the thinner strips best)
Combine ¼ cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a saucepan to make a simple syrup. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Add peel, give a quick stir, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
When cool, strain through a sieve, shaking off excess moisture to prevent clumping; discard liquid.
Separate pieces of zest, and allow to air-dry on a sheet of wax paper.
Place remaining ¼ cup of sugar and citrus strips in a bowl; toss well to coat.
Store candied peel layered in wax paper in an airtight container for up to a month. Serve over ice cream, pair with chocolate for an after-dinner treat, or simply eat on its own!
*I used 2 oranges and 1 lemon, just to give you an idea of how much zest that produced* ENJOY!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks SO delicious. I love the tart, fresh flavor with a little sweet.
Erica, Juno and Sarah, thank you for the kind compliments! Sarah, your idea for saving the simple syrup is smart, and I especially like the suggestions of drizzling over baked goods and for smoothies!!
Nice pictures!
Sarah – I like your tip about the syrup. It’s great for making smoothies!
What a lovely simple recipe, and gorgeous pictures! I am definitely going to try this.
I’m impressed with how little time this recipe takes, when I’ve made candied citrus peel in the past it has taken almost an hour! Also, just a tip, do not discard the cooking liquid/simple syrup, save it! it becomes infused with the citrus flavor and is amazing used in place of honey in tea, drizzled over fruit salad, or as a glaze for baked goods. delicious!