Quickly Prepare Candied Orange Peels
Citrus fruits are one of the most versatile gifts that Mother Nature throws at us. Life gives us lemons, and we use them to make everything from cottage cheese to salad dressing. In fact, we’ve found ways to use the whole damn thing . Sure, the fruity middle of citrus is great, but there’s even a way to make the peel taste good. Simple candied orange peel dipped in sugar is a sweet, flavorful delight packed with texture. Unfortunately, making them in the traditional way can take several hours. Well, we’re not that traditional here. Here’s a trick that cuts down a lengthy process to a fraction of the time.
Why do candied orange peels take so long to cook?
There are three parts of an orange to consider, known as the zest, core and pulp (the part we usually eat). The pith is the thick white part between the rind and the pulp, which most people consider bitter and is left out when making candied orange peels. In this article , Cook’s Illustrated debunks the misconception about the bitter heart by revealing that the heart is tasteless. Or no taste if the core and zest don’t rub against each other – like they will in your teeth when you eat candied varieties:
This happens when the pith and zest are rubbed together, as is often the case when making citrus-based drinks: acid and enzymes turn the tasteless compounds of the peel into new ones with pronounced bitterness.
The traditional way to rid citrus peels of bitterness is to boil them down, discard them, and boil them again. And then again. As with bitter herbs , the simmering process releases the unpleasant acids found in the peel, allowing them to be washed away.
It works quite well, but it’s a laborious process, and all those wonderful aromatic oils in the zest go down the drain with the boiling water. I wanted to simplify the procedure and retain as much of the orange flavor as possible – if not in the peel, then at least in the remaining syrup (which can be saved and used as a simple syrup ).
Quick orange peel candy trick
If the core has no taste and only the peel is bitter from it, then I say that it must be removed. What you lose in attractiveness, you gain in time and aesthetics. The candied process requires 15 minutes of boiling instead of two hours and boiling and rinsing three times. Your kitchen will not become a sauna, but instead of clumsy orange sticks, you will get thin, graceful citrus petals with curled edges.
Make these quick candied strips by peeling two oranges off the biggest boards you can handle (they will shrink in size). You can use a sharp paring knife, but a good vegetable peeler will do it faster. If you now have some substance, don’t worry; a shade of white is ok. After you’ve peeled both oranges, sort them to find pieces with thicker cores where the white is opaque. They need to be removed, but delicately . Run a knife along the underside of the peel to remove most of the white layer, being careful not to cut through the orange zest. Once you get very close to the zest, you will see that there are little holes in the core through which you can see the zest – that’s close enough. Thin layers of the core are not a reason to suffer, the idea is to remove most of it.
Pour one and a half cups of water and one cup of white granulated sugar into a high-sided saucepan and add the orange strips. Stir the contents over medium heat so that the sugar begins to dissolve and submerge the crusts. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. You will notice that the orange peels become translucent as the simple syrup begins to bubble and thicken slightly. Set a timer if you need to, as if you leave the peel too long, all the water will evaporate and you’ll be left with crunchy orange candies.
Many Uses for Candied Citrus Fruits
But what to do with the received sweet treat? My favorite and slightly more casual option involves chilling the candied fruit in syrup and storing the strips in a jar of syrup already soaked in orange to use in tea, topping ice cream or oatmeal, or cutting them into pieces. Add a chewy orange surprise to your muffin batter.
Another option is to roll them in sugar to give them a subtle crispy crust. While the citrus is simmering, place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet and place a wire rack over it; this is where the strips will dry before you throw them into the sugar. When the rinds are simmering, remove each orange peel and, if it has curls, place it plate-side down so that there is no puddle of syrup inside. Make sure the stripes do not overlap; each part should have its own space. Leave them for two hours or overnight if you have time.
After “drying” you will notice that they are still a bit sticky. That’s good – you just don’t want them to be syrupy. Drop each strip into a small bowl of granulated sugar until the entire sticky surface is covered and the candied orange peel is easy to handle. Store in an airtight container until needed. You can use these gummies as a dramatic cake topper or cocktail garnish, or just as a bold snack.