Candied Orange Peel

Saw Phong Hong's post on this recipe the time when I wanted to make  Orange Marmalade.  Normally, I don't add all the orange skin to the marmalade as my hubby is not in favour of too much zest in it.  The remaining skin is usually discarded.  This time after seeing Phong Hong's post, I put them to good use by making candied orange peel.

The cooking part is quite easy but removing the white pith from the skin is quite time consuming and you need a sharp knife for easy cutting.  I removed quite a bit of the white pith which is bitter.   But it is worth the trouble cos' the candied orange peels are good, very suitable for my mixed nuts mooncake filling and cakes.   I'm very happy that I made these cos' I have used them in several of my bakes [see coming posts].

Recipe Source - Phong Hong Bakes

Ingredients

- Orange peel from 3 oranges [I used about 150 gm]

- Enough water to cover orange peel in a saucepan

- 1.5 cups sugar [I used about 1 cup]

1. Wash the oranges and dry them.  Slice off the top and bottom of the oranges.  Score the skin in quarters.  Keep the orange flesh for making marmalade.
2. Remove the skin [white pith]  an cut into strips of about 1/4 inch wide.
3. Put the orange peel strips into a saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to boil, then drain the water.  Add in water and bring to boil again.  Repeat this twice.
4. Add water just enough to cover the orange peel, add sugar.  Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring it to a boil.
5. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour or until sugar mixture is thick and syrupy.  Swirl the pan every now and then to coat the orange strips with the syrup.
6. The orange peel should be translucent and the syrup almost dried and some sugar crystals.
7. Remove to cool on a rack then roll in some sugar to coat the peels.  Let dry and store in airtight container.