Tonight we had Tex-Mex beef over rice. Both the seasoned beef/peppers and cooked rice were made a week ago and kept in the freezer until today. I added some salsa to the beef as it reheated and seasoned with salt to taste. With the beef over rice we had orange segments (leftover from making candied orange peel) and steamed frozen spinach. Tasty and easy.
I talked about making candied orange peel several years ago in this post. I still make some every year, but thought I'd post about it again. This morning I was cleaning out the garage fridge and came upon 3 oranges that I had bought in December for using in candied orange peels. The oranges were surprisingly still in great shape. So, today I made the candied peel.
Making candied citrus peel is a great kitchen task for when you have a couple of other chores that will keep you close to the kitchen for an hour or two. For me today, I also baked sandwich bread and cleaned up the nearby family room while the orange peel was simmering.
The post referenced in the above paragraph also has some "instructions" on how I peel an orange to get good, cut sections of peel (with non-ragged edges) using a spoon.
Candied Orange Peel
After washing and peeling oranges, cut narrow strips of the peel (outer orange part as well as inner white), then simmer them in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Drain, refill with fresh water, and simmer again for 10 minutes two additional times. Drain one final time.
Rinse the saucepan and make a simple syrup of 1 part water to just over 2 parts sugar. For 3 large oranges, I used about just under 3/4 cup of sugar in just over 1/4 cup of water. Heat and stir until sugar is dissolved completely. Add the drained orange peel strips and simmer for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring often, until the strips have absorbed almost all of the syrup. In the final 3 minutes, you'll need to stir the strips continually, to insure none scorch on the bottom of the pan.
Remove the candied strips from the saucepan with a slotted spoon and spread on a sheet of waxed paper or a Silpat liner. Allow to dry out overnight. Roll in powdered sugar, if desired.
We eat some of this candied orange as is. But most of it I dice and freeze to use in baking, like in sweet breads, muffins, and cookies or in stewed fruit such as prunes. The candied peel keeps frozen for a couple of years.
I'll have to try my hand at those as I usually just put the orange peels down the garbage disposal to clean it. Does changing the water during boiling help remove some of the bitterness of the peel?
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteYes, the simmering in water multiple times reduces the bitterness. You can change water and simmer 5 or 6 times, if you want. There may still be some remaining bitterness. But of course, you won't know if you like it until you try it.
I like putting lemon "shells" after juicing down the disposal. I'll try it with orange or tangerine peels sometime. Mostly we compost the citrus peels.
This sounds delicious. I can't eat oranges so we rarely have them anymore, although I do buy cuties when they are on sale. Not sure if the peels from those would work as well as regular oranges. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteYes, you can candy any citrus peels! I've even heard of candied grapefruit peels. Orange peels are thicker than tangerine peels. But the tangerine ones will still work and I think would be delicious, too. Let me know if you try this with tangerine peels.
I remember your original post. I’ve got some nice navel oranges and think I’ll try it this time. Thanks for the reminder and update. I’ll use your spoon trick!
ReplyDeleteHi Lynn,
DeleteI hope you enjoy the orange peel, and that the spoon trick works well for you, too!
We were eating the candied orange peel that I made yesterday so rapidly that I had to quickly chop it up and freeze before we polished it all off. I'm hoping to make a candied fruit-studded bread for Easter this year. I candied some of our tree cherries last summer. Those are in the freezer. I'll mix some candied orange peel,. candied cherries, and raisins for the fruit portion. It should be as good as fruitcake fruit, and better for us, as no artificial colors.
And yes, you have been reading here a while! Thank you for continuing to read and add your thoughts.
I just noticed the date from your original post-2013! I’ve followed you a long time! :)
ReplyDelete