Natural Green Mom

Candied Orange Peel

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Candied Orange Peel

I’ve mentioned before that for Christmas I got a compost pail. I love that guy! I can’t believe the amount of kitchen scraps we accumulate in just one day. And thanks to my compost pail – none of that is going to the landfill. Instead, it is getting hauled out to the backyard to the compost bin where it is mixed with yard waste. I get kinda tickled when I head out each week to stir it. I’m always looking to see if it is making any progress.

Compost Pail

Well, one of the things I’ve noticed when I’ve peeked in, is the citrus peels we’ve been adding don’t seem to be doing much. In fact, they all look a lot like they did when I threw them in. That’s when I read these words, “You will find out that orange peels take forever to break down….” Alrighty then. So what exactly am I supposed to do with the 8 -10 orange peels we seem to have each week?

Candied Orange Peel! I turned those scraps into a delicious treat!

If you don’t like Orange Marmalade, this might not be for you. Still, you might want to make up a batch for gift giving. Stored in an airtight container, they will last a month.

Candied Orange Peel

Orange Peel from 6 large oranges

Water

4 1/2 Cup Sugar divided

4 inch piece of vanilla bean

1. Cut orange peel into long strips. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Pour off water. Repeat this step three times to remove the bitterness from the pith.

2. Bring 1 cup water to boil in a large saucepan. Add 4 cups of sugar, slowly, stirring until it dissolves. Add the vanilla bean and citrus peels. Return to a boil. Turn down the heat to simmer and let simmer for about an hour, or until peels are translucent.

3. Use tongs to remove peels and let dry on a drying rack placed over a pan. (don’t throw out the sugar water! it is delicious. I froze mine in ice cube trays to add to ice tea this summer!) It will take about 5 -6 hours for the peels to dry to the point of just being tacky. When they reach this point, roll in remaining 1/2 cup of sugar.

Candied Orange Peel

There you have it! Kitchen scraps turned tasty treat! Have you had candied orange peel before? Are you a fan?

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Comments

  1. Another great use for orange peel is to dehydrate it and then blend it into a powder. It’s great for use in making homemade mulling spices, it’s nice in breads and rolls, it’s also great on meats or tossed in with veggies. You can also use it in tea. I prefer doing this with the thinner skinned oranges like the mandarins, but you can do it with any.

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  8. Great idea! I dry mine on top of our wood stove, then use them as kindling to help start fires. The oils in the peel create quite an intense burn, and it also smells great.

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  14. Awesome. My dad has always talked about how when he was a kid they had a treat made out of sugared orange peel. I will be making him a batch of this soon!

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