Don't throw away your orange peels! I can show you how to make candied orange peels dipped in dark chocolate. Hopefully, that has got your attention. They are easy to make and have numerous uses, apart from being a delicious sweet treat. They can be stored for a long time too. Yes, you can buy candied orange peel in the shops, but it's so much better to make your own - more natural and tasty.
Initially, I made candied orange peel for my Christmas cake recipe. However, I soon discovered that the jar containing them quickly emptied. My family was eating them like sweets! If you can't beat them, join them, so I made them even more tempting by dipping the ends in dark chocolate. OMG! Think Jaffa cakes without calories.
I don't toss the orange peels in extra sugar as they are sweet enough without. Making the candied orange peel is simple but takes a bit of time. It's well worth the effort, though.
Ingredients
- Orange peel
- Castor sugar
- Water
- Dark chocolate
Instructions
Wash the oranges.
Cut the top and the bottom off each orange.
Score the skin of the orange into quarters, ensuring you don't cut into the flesh of the orange. Further score each quarter into half.
Peel the skin carefully, both the peel and the white pith.
Place each peel on a chopping board and carefully remove the top layer of the white pith. Not too much, just a bit to reduce the bitterness (refer to the video)
Cut each peel in half lengthwise, creating strips.
Transfer the peels to a pot with cold water and bring them to a boil.
When it comes to a boil, please remove it from the heat and drain the water.
Once again, add cold water and the peels back to the pot and bring them to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, drain the water. Repeat this process four times in total. This will remove excessive bitterness from the peels.
Whisk together the sugar and water in a pot and return to the stove over medium heat.
Simmer the sugar syrup until all the sugar has melted and combined. Do not let it boil.
Add the orange peels to the sugar syrup and simmer over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes or until the orange peels are translucent. Do not be tempted to stir as it may crystallise the sugar and, therefore, the peels. You can swirl the pot if necessary.
Transfer the peels onto a drying rack or tray.
If you wish to coat the ends in chocolate, melt the dark chocolate over hot water and set aside to cool a bit.
Once the orange peels are dry, coat one end of each peel in dark chocolate and put aside to set.
Once cooled and dry, store in an airtight jar.
Substitutions
If you are making this as a snack treat, you can use any chocolate except for milk chocolate. Milk chocolate doesn't hold well at room temperature and will melt in the jar.
Variations
Dipping in dark chocolate is optional; the candied orange peel is just as tasty without the chocolate.
Of course, you can make candied peel from any citrus fruit. Candied lemon peel is popular. But there is no reason you can't candy lime peel or grapefruit peel, although I have not tried them myself.
Storage
You can keep the candied orange peel in an airtight container for a month.
Top Tips
Oranges with firm skins work better than the ones like satsumas.
It is best to make candied peel from organic fruit because you can rest easy knowing they have not been sprayed with nasties.
FAQ's
The white pith on the orange peel makes it bitter, so this must be removed. After cooking in sugar syrup, the rind is sweet but still with a little bit of bitterness. However, the sweetness overpowers the bitterness, creating a sweet but slightly bitter winning combination.
I advocate for limiting food waste, and I like to find creative ways to use up all parts of fruits and vegetables. Use these candied orange peels in many recipes—panettone, garnishes for desserts, cakes, and even cookies.
If you dry orange peels, you can grind them to a powder and use as a natural air freshener. I've even read that orange peel powder placed in strategic positions can repel insects because of the limonene content of the peels. I've not tried this yet, but I will give it a go!
Finally, you can give orange peel tea a go. Dry some orange peels. When you fancy tea, place some dried orange peel in a cup, pour some hot water and let it steep for five minutes.
With this knowledge, we can #starvethebin!
📖 Recipe
Candied Orange Peels Dipped In Dark Chocolate
Equipment
- Digital scales
Ingredients
- 1 kg Oranges 4 in number
- 300 g Castor sugar
- 300 g Water
- 40 g Dark chocolate 84%
Instructions
- Wash and pat dry the oranges.
- Cut off the top and the bottom of each orange.
- Score the skin of the orange into quarters, ensuring you don't cut into the flesh of the orange. Further score each quarter into half.
- Peel the skin carefully, both the peel and the white pith.
- Place each peel on a chopping board and carefully remove the top layer of the white pith. Not too much, just a bit to reduce the bitterness (refer to the video).
- Cut each peel in half lengthways, creating strips.
- Transfer the peels into a pot with cold water and bring to a boil.
- The moment it comes to a boil, remove from heat and drain the water.
- Once again add cold water and the peels back to the pot and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, drain the water. Repeat this process 4 times in total. This will remove excessive bitterness from the peels.
- In a pot, whisk together the sugar and water and return to the stove over a medium heat.
- Simmer the sugar syrup, until all the sugar has melted and combined. Do not let it boil.
- Add the orange peels to the sugar syrup and simmer over a medium low heat for about 30 minutes or until the orange peels are translucent. Do not be tempted to stir as it may crystallise the sugar and therefore the peels. You can swirl the pot if necessary.
- Once ready, drain the sugar syrup and transfer to a sterilised jar to keep for future use.
- Transfer the peels onto a drying rack or tray.
- Melt the dark chocolate over hot water and set aside to cool a bit.
- Once the orange peels are dry, coat one end of each peel in dark chocolate and put aside to set.
- Once cooled and dry, store in an airtight jar.
Food Safety
In a professional kitchen, food hygiene and safety are top priorities, and from the beginning of my training, I practised good habits and routines. Here are some fundamental practices to adopt in the kitchen at home.
- Wash your hands regularly while preparing, handling and cooking food.
- Wipe down countertops and high-contact points regularly.
- If you cook meat and fish, do not use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat. Use separate chopping boards for meat and fish. Wash your chopping boards immediately after use.
- Thoroughly cook food to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C).
- Don't leave food at room temperature for extended periods (more than 2 hours).
- Store food correctly.
For more details regarding food hygiene and safety in the home, visit the UK Government's Food Standards Agency webpage.
Elspeth says
I have just made these. They are certainly very more-ish!
Chef Tripti says
Glad you like them!