Candied Orange Zest
Among all the candied fruits available, and that includes ginger for that matter, I’ve never actually seen candied zest in the supermarket. I’ve seen those jujube-like wedges of fruit-flavored candies, I’ve seen a wide variety of marmalades and I’ve seen dried zests, but never pure candied zest. For this reason alone it’s nice to have a recipe for such a thing, since candied zest plays a lovely role in Christmas baking and even summer cakes.
Considering that most people just throw away the peels of their citrus fruits anyway, how simple this is to make and how much it would otherwise cost to buy, it’s nice to just do it for yourself. It doesn’t just have to be used for baking of course, it’s delicious mixed into granola and yogurt, in cocktails or just snacked on as is in large wedges.
If you’re not going to use the orange flesh or juice right away the oranges will dry out quite quickly without the zest to keep them moist. In that case, you’re best off using the juice in the recipe in substitution of some or all of the water for an additional orange flavor boost. That is, of course, if you don’t feel like having a glass with breakfast.
- 7 oranges
- 1 1/2 cups plus 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- Carefully peel all of the zest off the oranges, making sure not to get the white pith attached to it. I like to use a speed peeler/Y peeler for this to get the zest all in one piece, which makes it easier to retrieve later.
- Place all of the zest in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then drain the water and rinse until clear. Repeat once more.
- Add 1 cup of the sugar and 1 cup of water and return to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the water has evaporated and you are left with a sugar syrup and some very tender orange peels.
- Prepare a tray by lining it with parchment paper. Retrieve the orange peels with tongs and arrange on the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely, then chop into more manageable pieces, according to your recipe, and toss with the remaining sugar to coat.
Note: do not waste the remaining orange-flavored sugar syrup! Reserve the remaining syrup to sweeten iced tea, to pour over pancakes or sponge cakes, or boil down to a caramel and make into hard candies!