(First appeared in Edible Santa Barbara in Winter 2015. Makes 4 to 5 cups)
Making your own candied orange peels provides you with an ingredient to dip in chocolate or chop up and add to baked goods or ice cream. It also feels frugal because you use peels that would otherwise be put in the compost. The fruit can be used in savory dishes, such a duck à l’orange. The syrup can be used for sodas and cocktails. And any leftover sugar that you use in coating the peels can be used whenever you want a slight hint of orange in your sugar.
6 thick-skinned oranges, organic or unsprayed
2 cups granulated sugar, plus more sugar for coating
Water for blanching, plus 2 cups
Cut the top and bottom ends off the oranges and score through just the skin into quarters vertically from top to bottom. You should then be able to remove the peel easily.
Put the peels in a saucepan large enough to hold them and cover with water. Bring to a full boil. Drain and rinse in cold water. Repeat. You will do a total of 4 blanchings. You can do a fifth if your peels are very thick. When you have finished the blanchings and the peels are cool enough to handle, scrape off the mushy part of the white pith. You can leave a little of the white pith to give them substance, but the more you leave on, the more bitter they will be. Cut peels into vertical strips.
Place the strips into a saucepan with 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. The peels should be tender and look translucent. You can also check with a candy thermometer — it should register around 220 degrees F.
Remove the peels from the syrup and set them, not touching each other, on a rack above a baking sheet to dry several hours or overnight. They will be quite sticky, even when dry. Dredge the peels in granulated sugar. You can serve them as is or dip the ends in some melted chocolate and let them dry on a parchment-lined baking sheet until firm. Store in an airtight container.
