CANDIED ORANGE PEEL

The first time I experienced the tangy sweet taste of homemade candied orange peel was as a little girl at my family’s annual soup-and-sing gathering at my grandparents’ house.  Every year, the whole family would gather at their home to eat a delicious homemade soup, sing Christmas carols around the piano, and even exchange a few gifts.  I was sitting in their living room on my grandmothers’ turtle shaped footstool, while a warm fire roared in their mid-century modern fireplace, looking out through the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows at the Pacific Ocean.  My grandma, Gamie, had made this delectable treat to share with her family as a traditional holiday recipe passed down by her mother and my great-grandmother, Gaga.  I wasn’t too excited to try the citrusy treat, having never been very fond of oranges (too messy), until the dish of chocolate-dipped candied orange peel was passed around. 

Wow, the sheer delight of biting into a candied orange peel!  It was crunchy, tangy, and sweet, and, in this case, chocolatey.  From that moment on, I became a fan of my great-grandmother Gaga’s candied orange peel and have since looked forward to it every year at our family’s annual soup-in-sing holiday gathering.  Since COVID-19 protocols restricted gatherings, thus cancelling our annual Christmas plans with the family, my mom and I dug into the old family recipe box and tried our culinary skills in making Gaga’s special recipe. 

Now, let me preface by saying that this is the simplest recipe I have ever made ingredient-wise.  It requires oranges, sugar, water, and optional (but highly recommended) dark chocolate.  The only thing you really need is a lot of time to babysit this creation through each boiling step, but the finished treat is so worth all the effort. 

Ingredients:

3 Navel Oranges
1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar
Water
Semi-Sweet Chocolate Wafers

Directions:

1. Clean the peels of each orange.
2. Prepare oranges by cutting a small slice off the top and bottom of each orange. 
3. With a sharp knife, score the peel of each orange which makes removing the peel from the fruit much easier.  
4. Cut removed peels into 1/3-inch-long strips.
5. Place orange peel strips in a pot and cover peels with water. 
6. Bring to boil three times; each time discard old water and start anew – this eliminates the bitterness of the orange peel. 

7. After the third discard, start anew with 1 ½ cups water and 1 ½ cups granulated sugar. 
8. Bring to a boil, then simmer down at least 1 hour; the longer you simmer the peel, the sweeter it gets.
9. Remove orange peel from remaining liquid and allow to cool on wax paper. 

10. Optional, roll peel in more sugar or dip in melted semi-sweet chocolate wafers.
11. Store in an airtight container.

It’s a labor of love to candy orange peel, but oh-so-worth-it. And it was even more special to keep a family tradition alive, especially during a year when we have all had to miss out on so much.  Even though the holiday’s might be over, this little treat is perfect as a sweet little pick me up any time of the year.  I hope you enjoy!