Candied orange peels

1. Wash and peel the oranges. The larger the peel pieces, the easier it will be to give the candied fruits a neat shape. Watch the video version of the recipe for two simple ways to quickly peel oranges.

2. Cut the orange peels into pieces of the desired size and shape.

3. Place the orange peel pieces in a saucepan and fill with cold water until just barely covered. Bring the water to a boil and cook the crusts for 10 minutes.

4. Then drain the hot water and pour a fresh portion of cold water over the orange peels. Add 1 tsp. salt, bring the water to a boil and cook for another 10 minutes. This step will help quickly get rid of the natural bitterness of oranges while maintaining the rich orange aroma and taste of the peels.

5. Drain the salt water and pour cold water over the crusts one last time. Bring the water to a boil and cook the crusts for another 10 minutes. Then drain the water and place the crusts in a sieve.

6. Meanwhile, prepare sugar syrup: combine 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil over low heat. Place the orange peel pieces in the boiling sugar syrup. Bring the syrup to a boil and cook the crusts for another 30–40 minutes.

7. At the end of cooking, if desired, add a little lemon juice or citric acid (to taste) to the syrup.

8. Talking about candied orange peels, I cannot keep silent about another version of candied orange peels that I often prepare - orange candies. You can purposefully prepare such candied candies from whole oranges. But in my opinion, this method is even more suitable for saving halves, “tails” and other stray pieces of oranges that are often left over during the holidays. The fact is that the process of preparing orange candies involves placing the pieces in a frying pan in one layer. In a large frying pan, placed in this way, usually 2, maximum 3 oranges are placed. Naturally, making lollipops from a large number of oranges in this way is tedious, but to give new life to pieces that would otherwise simply disappear is just right.

9. To make candied orange peel lollipops, cut the oranges into thin slices.

10. Prepare 2 containers: one with cold water and one with boiling water. Place the orange slices in boiling water for about 1 minute. Once the pieces are soft, transfer them to cold water. Let the pieces cool slightly and then drain.

11. Combine water and sugar in a frying pan. Over low heat, stirring, bring the syrup to a boil. Place the orange slices in the pan in a single layer. I lay out the pieces slightly overlapping - 3 small oranges fit.

12. Cook the pieces over low heat for 1–1.5 hours, without allowing the syrup to boil intensely.

13. Place orange peel and slices on parchment paper and pat dry. You can dry candied fruits naturally - leaving them at room temperature for 24–48 hours. Or in the oven - at minimum temperature for 2-3 hours, until the candied fruits harden.

14. Homemade candied orange peels are ready! Bon appetit!