It is the season when I make my candied orange peels to last for the entire year. I use them on top of cannoli, chopped in various desserts, and in my ricotta gelato; we even coat the ends with dark chocolate to eat as candy.
To me it is worth putting in a couple of hours for the final product because you just can’t buy anything like it. You’re not actually doing a lot of work: most of the time is spent just letting them sit around to dry.
This used to be the most requested recipe from my students before I included it on page 308 in my cookbook, My Calabria, but you can follow the various steps here with pictures below and a video, shot and edited by my sixteen-year-old son Adrian. The recipe in the book is for five oranges but five oranges certainly won’t last me a year!
If you don’t have your own orange trees you will need to buy organic oranges that have not been sprayed or coated with any wax.
With a paring knife cut the peel of each orange into strips about one inch wide.
I don’t remove the pith at this point. I remove it later after cooking the peels as it is easier and I can leave some behind so that I end up with a thicker peel.
Place the peels in a pot and cover with cold water.
Bring the pot to a boil and boil them for two minutes. Drain and refill the pot again with cold water and boil again. This removes any trace of bitterness.
After the third blanching, with the peels drained and cooled, remove the white pith with a pairing knife, leaving about 1/8 inch.
After you are done with all the strips, return them to the pot and repeat the 2 minute boiling two more times, for a total of five times.
Make a simple syrup with 4 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water and two tablespoons of lemon juice. Bring to a boil and simmer the syrup for about 15 minutes to thicken. Add the drained peels and cook until the peels look glassy and translucent, about an hour.
Remove from the heat and let them cool in the syrup overnight. The next morning the peels will plump in the syrup and the syrup will be very thick.
Transfer each peel on a wire rack, removing the excess syrup with your fingers. The peels should not be dripping.
Let them dry for 24 hours or longer depending on the weather. Once they are dried and no longer tacky, coat them with sugar. Return the peels to the rack and let them dry overnight or further until dry.
Store them in a plastic container in your freezer; they keep well indefinitely.
Here is the video showing you each step.
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I made these last week; to say they are the best you’ve ever tasted is an understatement; they are beyond compare. However, it took a good 6 days to complate the process as they weren’t drying as I had hoped. I used a sliver on top of my homemade sfinci di San Giuseppe on Saturday and everyone commented on the deep orange flavor….in fact one man asked me to make a bunch for him….I am giving him the recipe instead
Susan,
I agree with you they are the very best! It can take few days to dry if the weather is wet. One trick I have found works well if it is too wet outside is to dry them in a food dehydrator with no heat, just having the fan blow cold air.
Looks lovely! I will try this soon, though perhaps with lemons first as my tree is overrun. I’ll have to get my hands on some organic oranges soon. Thanks for the clear instructions. I’ve struggled with larger batches of candied peel.
What a great idea to make it in huge batches. Lovely post and video. Thank you!
I’ve made candied orange peels before, but they’ve never come out at beautiful as yours! I will definitely be trying your recipe!
Brings back a lot of memories for me. My Mom used to candy orange and lemon peels and then use a small amount of the lemon peels (chopped ever so finely) in her lemon pound cake and a small amount of the orange peels (together with a bit of citron) chopped into her ricotta pie for Easter (and other times of the year). What flavor!
Stephanie,
I use the candied orange peels in all my Sicilian (cannoli, cassata, sfinge) and Neapolitan desserts (pastiera and sfogliatelle filling).
I can’t wait to make these candied peels. I’ve been drying my organic oranges’ peels and using the result in so many recipes. I’ve added it to oatmeal and even a frisee, fennel salad. I’m addicted. I love your book. I have renewed it from the library three times and it is in my cart at amazon. I will HAVE to purchase it when I can no longer hold on to the library’s copy. I was cooking favas for the Fave Arrappate and let all the water boil out. I ended up with mashed favas, which were delicious with olive oil and a poached egg on top. I had never tried dried favas before. Now I can have favas all year.
Thanks
I noticed this recipe in the book.
I’ve got a serious crop of blood oranges coming on in the garden, so I’m going to give this a shot with them.
About ten days ago I received my own copy of My Calabria in the mail! I was nine when my Calabrian mother passed away so these recipes hold a special place in my heart. I have another copy of the book for my sister who I know will love it as much as I do. As I write my Pane Calabrese is having its first rise. From this I will prepare a filone for tonight and some friselle to enjoy later. To accompany the bread tonight I will prepare Pollo alla Calabrese. My sister and I will prepare the Chinulille – even though we remember these well we never knew the correct name. I love the stories, the history and love you have put into this book! Thank you for putting together such wonderful memories!
Marcellina,
I am so happy to hear that the book brings back special memories of your mother’s cooking.
How did the bread turn out? Did you make the friselle?
I am only able to find organic navel oranges here that have thick skins. Can I use the navel oranges to make these peels? I am asking because I was warned against using navel oranges to make marmalade because I was told they turn too bitter.
You can use organic navel oranges to make the candied orange peels.
Hi I remember my mother is also creating candy out of dalandan peel it is a small version of orange in our country…it is chewy in texture but I love eating it with my friends =) it a nutritious candy
Looks a lot like the ones we make with naval oranges… and dry them in the oven… http://theadalynfarm.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/sugar-time-sugar-time-little-orage-peels-more-time-and-sugar/
I HAVE BEEN GROWING ZUCCA LONGA AND I NEED A RECIPE FOR CANDIED ZUCCINI LIKE THE SICILIAN NUNS MAKE.
Joseph,
I have never attempted to make the “zuccata”. My husband is from Palermo so I always buy it there and bring it back (I use it to decorate the cassata siciliana). I tried asking around in Palermo and nobody makes it anymore as they buy it at the pastry shops but I did get an idea of how they used to make it when talking to the lady that sold it to me.
She said you need to keep the zucca under salt for a day, rinse it well and then cook it with sugar and water for 20 minutes. Leave it in the syrup overnight and cook it again for 5 minutes the next day and repeat this over the next three days. Remove it and let it dry out. If you try it out let me know if it works out.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made these this week & they are heavenly! They are the best I’ve ever had & truly something special. I could only find Valencian organic oranges so used them. They came out very well. I probably could have dried them more but they are delicious nonetheless. I used them for a party where I made Timballo & homemade cannoli with your fresh ricotta. Oh my God, they were divine! We actually had a party, making your ricotta & had an Italian potluck. It was great! Thank you for both recipes. They are keepers for sure! I love your book. My father is from Calabria & I’ve given your book as a gift to my Aunt. She’s enjoying it very much. Grazie!!!
Any ideas on what to do with the leftover simple syrup. It has such a great orange flavor.
Angela,
I have used it as a syrup on top of poached pears, even drizzled on pancakes. Use it on top of anything that you would like the orange flavor. It keeps in the fridge well so you can use it over time.
Hi Rosetta,
I want to use your candy orange slices in a bitter marmalade.
Could you tell me how to incorporate them into jam!
I have never made either one.
Thank you
Ron
Ron,
I have never done that either but if you want to incorporate the candied orange peels in the bitter orange marmalade I would skip the step of coating them with sugar. Right after you take them out of the syrup, chop them and add them to your hot jam (when you are done with your jam right before you put it in the jar) and fold them in. I think that should work.
Good luck,
Rosetta
Hello Rosetta
Can you use this recipe for mandarins & lemons?
Do you know how to make citron (cedro)?
many thanks for any help you can give.
Happy easter
Regina
Regina,
You can use this recipes for lemons. Cedro (citron) candied is a different process, they use salt to get all the moisture out and then they cook it in a syrup.
wow
Thank you for such a lovely recipe. Unfortunately I don’t have oranges or lemons in my garden. Ireland is the wrong climate! However I am looking forward to raiding my local green grocers. All my children can enjoy these and no worrying about artificial additives. I am DEFINATELY going to get your book wrapped under the tree for Christmas. Beannacht Dia Ort.( God be with you)
If I overcooked the orange peels in the syrup, will they still be good to eat? I still have to leave them overnight but the one I tasted was a little tough at the ends.
We loved the candy!
Thanks for the gorgeous photos of your candied orange peel! My mouth watered just looking at them.
I am making these in the next day or two. I have told several people what I am going to do and they asked why. When they taste the end result, they will know why!
Also your instruction are very clear and easy to understand. Many thanks.
Happy Holidays to all!
Was making lemon curd and grapefruit marmalade, so thought I would use the peels, instead of using them to freshen the disposal. They taste wonderful – and I haven’t finished drying them yet! Thanks for sharing the recipe.