Candied citrus peel

Even though it's in no way local, I tend to eat a lot of citrus in winter, when there are interesting varieties in the stores and bright and lively produce is in low supply. Sometimes I zest the peel for muffins, etc., but usually I throw the peels in a bag in the fridge and hope I use them for something eventually. When that time comes, I sort through the bag, throw out all the old peels that have inevitably become rock hard or are starting to get moldy, and make candied orange peels. It's nice to give away as a little gift, or to put in scones, cookies, and other baked goods. It's simple to make, but a lot of recipes out there seem to be missing a couple of key steps. So here's how I do it.



1. Because you're working exclusively with the outside of the fruit, the part that got exposed to and sprayed with whatever was used to grow it, this is one recipe where I feel it's even more important than usual to buy organic.

2. A lot of recipes say to use a peeler to separate the outside of the peel from the pithy part. I think that's a pain, and really kind of defeats the purpose of making the peel into something you want to eat. Instead, I recommend using tangerines or clementines, because they have much thinner peels than a lot of orange varieties.

3. Whatever you're using, give them a rinse, cut off any spots, and cut them into thin (less than 1/4 inch) strips an inch or two long. This recipe was about 6 tangerines and 3 oranges, but you don't have to be exact.



4. Throw the peels in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, drain the water, and repeat. This removes much of the bitterness in the peel and pith and softens them up. I was raised in a 4-5 boilings household, because my mom is adamant about getting all the bitterness out. But I kind of like the bite of it - it's going to end up super sweet either way - so I just boil twice. You also want the peel to get pretty soft, and this doesn't take as long with thin tangerines as with thick oranges. Again, it doesn't have to be exact.

5. Next, dump the peels into a bowl or something, and make a heavy syrup in the pot. You want a 2:1 ratio of sugar to water. For this many peels, I used 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Add them to the pot, and bring to a boil. You want to bring this syrup to the soft thread stage, which is about 232 degrees. If you don't have a candy thermometer, just bring it to a boil and then continue boiling for about 5 minutes. I wasn't very exact with my temperature, and it turned out great, so don't worry about it. You're not making caramels here.

6. Add the peels to the sugar syrup and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. The syrup will be mostly cooked down/absorbed. Take it off the heat and drain the excess syrup (I saved this in a jar in the fridge).



7. Now you need to let the peels dry out for a while - 12 hours or so at least - so spread them out on a cooling rack or something else that will allow air to circulate around them. I put mine over a cookie sheet, because some will fall through and they'll drip as they dry. If you skip this step they'll just get clumpy and gross when you try to toss them in sugar.







8. After at least 12 hours, when they're a bit drier and aren't as sticky, put some sugar in a ziplock bag and add the peels a handful at a time. Toss them around until coated, then put on another cookie sheet to dry out more. Add more sugar to the bag as needed, and repeat until all of the peels are sugared up.



9. Let the peels dry for another couple hours, then they're all set to use or store. I keep mine in the fridge, but I don't even think that's necessary. At this point they're pretty well preserved. Enjoy!