How to Make Candied Orange Peel That Actually Tastes Good

In December last year, I wasted three batches of candied peel before I realized what I was doing incorrectly. Each batch cost about $8 in organic Oranges and four hours on my Saturday. What’s the problem? The problem?

Three specific techniques are the key to making candied orange peel a delicious, chewy treat. So you don’t need to spend money on them, I did it the hard way.

Learn how to make candied peel that is sweet and tender. It’s worth the effort. I share the method for removing bitterness from candied orange peel without losing its flavor. I also reveal the syrup ratio that I tested seven different times before getting it right. I also explain the drying technique that prevents crystallization. Plus, the mistake that destroys 80% of candied peel. (I made this mistake twice before I realized it).

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Why Store-Bought Candied Orange Peel is No Match for Homemade

Williams Sonoma sells candied peel for $14-18 per pound. Even with organic oranges, it costs only $3 per pound to make your own. The price wasn’t the reason I made it myself.

The candied peel is stored in warehouses. It becomes hard, loses the essential oils and tastes like sugar. In a blind tasting with my book group, I compared the Trader Joe’s version (£7.99 for 8oz) with my own batch. The homemade batch won by 8-0. The difference in freshness is significant.

Every winter, I make candied peel at least three times. It’s used in panettone as Christmas gifts, dipped into dark chocolate at New Year’s Eve parties and in my bar cabinet to make old fashioneds. [INTERNAL: Orange Old Fashioned recipe] Fresh citrus oils are better than any jarred cocktail.

Why Your candied orange peel tastes bitter

Right? Every recipe says so. Wrong.

I made identical batches but with different amounts of pitch. The batch that had 1/8 inch of white peel pith was better than the batch without any pith. The pith is rich in pectin, which helps the peel keep its shape when cooking. If you remove too much, the candy will become mushy.

Insufficient blanching is the real culprit. Orange peel is rich in limonin – a bitter compound. It’s not visible or easy to remove. It can only be removed by boiling it in water and changing it multiple times.

The majority of recipes call for 2 blanches. I use four. It takes an additional 20 minutes, but 90% of the bitterness is eliminated. This is what I learned from the pastry chef of Tartine Bakery, who produces 50 pounds candied oranges per week for their morning buns.

What you need to make candied orange peel

Oranges: Choose oranges with thick skin, such as Valencia or navel. Berkeley Bowl has every variety. Cara Caras with thin skins are pretty, but they fall apart when you candy them. For one pound, you need to peel 4-5 medium-sized oranges.

Sugar: White granulated sugar is perfect. I tried organic cane sugar and even coconut sugar. All three were the same, but cost 3-4x more. You can save money.

Water: If your tap water tastes chlorinated, it’s fine. Then use filtered.

Equipment: A heavy bottomed pot is required (cheap thin ones create hot spots which scorch the sugar), as well as a paring or vegetable peeler, and a cooling tray set on top of a baking sheet. Dollar store wire racks work well.

Step-by-Step process that actually works

Step 1: Peel the Peel Correctly

Oranges can be quartered from the top down. You can eat the fruit for breakfast or juice it. Don’t waste those orange supremes.

Remove about half of the white pith with a spoon. Keep 1/16- 1/8 inch of the white pith attached. It took me six oranges for me to get it right. You may be cooking with too little peel and pith. If you have too much, you will need to blanch it more.

Peel into strips of 1/4 inch width. The wider strips may look great, but they take a long time to dry. When coated in sugar, thinner strips tend to curl and burn.

Step 2: The Four-Blanch Method

Cover the peel strips with two inches of cold water. Bring to a rolling boil on high heat. After boiling, cook for exactly two minutes.

Drain in a colander. Pour 30 seconds, run cold water on the peel.

Continue the process with fresh water three times. Four times in total. Each blanch will remove more limonin. Taste a small portion after the fourth blanch. It should be mildly bitter and tender, but not aggressively bitter.

In two batches, I compared the taste of candy with and without four blanches. The two-blanch candy tasted great immediately, but after 48 hours the bitterness intensified. The four-blanch variety remained sweet-tart and pleasantly sweet for three weeks.

Step 3: Prepare the simple syrup (and get the ratio right)

Add 2 cups of sugar to 2 cups of water in a pot. Stir until the sugar has dissolved completely before heating. This will prevent crystallization in the future.

Add your orange peel. Bring to a rolling boil and immediately reduce the heat to maintain a bare simmer. You only want to see bubbles occasionally breaking the surface of the liquid, not a rolling boil.

Most recipes don’t give you an accurate cooking time. When you stare at a pot full of orange peels, “until translucent” is meaningless.

Cook at a low simmer for 45-50 minutes. Set a clock. The peel will be opaque after 30 minutes. After 40 minutes it begins to look translucent. After 45-50 minutes it is uniformly transparent with a slightly darker color.

I ruined the first batch of my recipe by boiling it for 30 minutes rather than simmering it gently for 45. The peel turned orange-brown, and it tasted like caramelized sugar.

Step 4: Nobody Explains the Drying Process Properly

Transfer the peel strips using a slotted teaspoon to your wire rack placed over a baking tray. Do not dump them into a colander. If they stick together, you’ll lose about half of the batch.

Drain them for 10 minutes. The sticky syrup will drip from them. Save the syrup! [INTERNAL: Orange Simple Syrup Usages] It is liquid gold and can be used for mocktails, cocktails, or to drizzle over yogurt.

Here’s where I disagree with every recipe: I do not immediately cover my candied peel with sugar. Let it air-dry first for 6-8 hours.

The moisture in the peel dissolves the sugar coating after 24 hours. The candy becomes sticky and clumped, making it impossible to separate. This is what I discovered after 40 candied orange peel pieces fused together into one mass.

After air drying for 6-8 hours (I do this overnight), the peel should be tacky, but not drippy. Then, sprinkle it with granulated white sugar. The coating sticks.

How to store candied orange peel (the right way)

When stored in an airtight container, candied peel will last 3-4 weeks if it is kept at room temperature. Target sells glass jars with rubber gaskets. The jars cost $6 each but work better than the expensive Weck jars.

Don’t refrigerate candied peel. Sugar coatings dissolve in the fridge due to moisture. I tried this by storing half of the batch in the refrigerator and half at room temperatures. The fridge version became a sticky mess after four days.

To store candied peel for longer, place it in freezer bags and press out all the air. This product can be stored for up to six months. It is best to let it thaw out at room temperature two hours prior to use. The texture remains perfect.

How to use candied orange peel

1. Dip in chocolate

Melt 8 ounces dark chocolate (I like Guittard 72%). Each candied peel piece should be dipped in chocolate about halfway. Allow excess chocolate to drip off. Place on parchment and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. These are the fastest-selling desserts I have ever made at parties.

2. Panettone, Holiday Breads and More

Cut candied peel into pieces of 1/4 inch. Add candied peel to the panettone dough when mixing it up. The citrus oils will perfume the whole loaf. [INTERNAL LOCATION: Traditional Panettone recipe] Every Christmas I make panettone to use up all my candied peels.

3. Cocktails and Old Fashioneds

By twisting the candied peel, you can release its oils into your drink. This combination of candied and fresh citrus adds a level of complexity that you won’t find in regular orange peel.

Common mistakes that ruin homemade candied peel

This is a common mistake. They crank up the heat to try and speed candying. Sugar caramelizes unevenly, and the peel becomes tougher. Slow and low always wins.

Mistake #2: Peeling too thick Anything larger than 1/4 inch in width takes more than 60 minutes to properly candy. The sugar syrup will have caramelized by then. The thinner the better.

The third mistake is to skip the overnight dry. Every recipe tells you to add sugar immediately. All of them are wrong. You’ll end up with a clumpy mess if you don’t let it dry.

Why I make this every winter Now

If you do it incorrectly, candied orange peels aren’t worth the effort. Store-bought candied peel is acceptable but not great. It is truly awful to make candied orange peel that’s bitter and hard.

When you nail it, what happens? It’s candy that tastes great, costs pennies an ounce and makes your home smell amazing. Three years in a row, I’ve given out jars filled with chocolate-dipped candied orange peel as gifts. Now, people actually ask for this.

Start with four oranges. Use the rule of four blanches. Stir gently for 45-50 min. Let it dry overnight before coating with sugar. That’s it.

What is your worst candied orange peel story? I made a mistake by leaving a batch of candied orange peel in syrup for 90-minutes and ended up with something that looked like beef jerky. Please share your citrus candy failures in the comments. I want to know that I’m not the only one.