Sweets that have been prepared with their own hands are always much tastier and healthier than purchased. Moreover, homemade delicacies always have fairly simple recipes that any housewife will cope with. Candied orange peel is a fragrant treat, suitable even for children.
Reasons for the popularity of candied orange
The special popularity of sweets was observed on the territory of the Soviet Union in the 70-90s of the last century. This is not surprising, because almost from an unnecessary product that was never used before, the housewives managed to make an incredibly tasty treat.
Candied orange peel was subsequently actively used for baking and hot drinks. After all, the aroma with which they awarded the dish was truly delicious. Also, sweets were incredibly quickly pulled apart by children, because candied crusts were much more attractive and more affordable than chocolate candies that were scarce in those days.
The recipe has one big minus, which is the cooking time. Every housewife knows that cooking will take about 20 hours. Of course, at this time, expectation and insistence at different stages are also included. The active cooking time will only take 1 hour.
Classic candied fruit ingredients
For cooking, you can use any number of orange peels. In fact, the weight of the peel is important only during the cooking of the syrup. But still it is worth adhering to such proportions:
- orange peels - 1 kg;
- lemon - 1/2 medium fruit;
- water - 0.5 l;
- sugar - 1.2 kg;
- powdered sugar - 1 tbsp. l (here the value is indicative, because the ingredient is used for pouring).
Steps for making candied fruits according to the classic recipe
Candied orange peels at home are prepared according to the following steps:
- The crusts that are available should be soaked in cold water. Thanks to this procedure, you can remove excess bitterness. Ideally, if you leave the crusts for the whole night, but the minimum required time for this is 5 hours.
- Soaked orange peels pour new water and send for cooking (set the fire to medium) for about 20 minutes. After that, throw them into a colander and rinse thoroughly with running water.
- These procedures will very soften the white side of the crusts. Now is the time to cut off the white part with a sharp knife. The peel itself needs to be cut into strips, the width of which varies within 0.3-0.5 cm. Such dimensions are considered optimal, since they can boil well, and in the future they will be very easy to lay out for drying.
- The recipe for candied orange peels at home, familiar conditions suggests that you need to prepare the syrup by boiling water with sugar for 8-10 minutes. After that add strained lemon juice.
- Put the chopped crusts in the finished syrup, close the lid and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Several times during cooking, you can mix the peel with a spoon. After the time allotted for cooking, remove the pan from the heat and let the crusts cool. The best option would be if you leave them overnight. During this time they will become translucent.
- Send candied orange peels at home again on fire. This time you need to cook with the lid open over medium heat, stirring regularly. The star anise star or vanilla pod added at this point will help add sweetness and an extra flavor. As a result, transparent pieces that are saturated with syrup should remain.
- Now it remains only to dry the crusts. To do this, lay the parchment on a baking sheet, and then carefully place the stripes of crusts on it. It will take about an hour over medium heat. In this case, the oven must be ajar. You can dry without using an oven, just in the room, for 4-6 hours. It is very important not to dry the sweets, otherwise they will become too hard.
- Put the candied fruit in a cup and sprinkle with powdered sugar. If you need to store sweets, it is better to transfer them to a jar, which is hermetically sealed so that they do not become stone.
Chocolate candied orange
Citrus fruits with chocolate - it is always a very effective combination of taste and appearance. Neither an adult nor a child will refuse this wonderful delicacy.
To prepare you will need:
- 2-3 oranges;
- 200 grams of chocolate (choose plain black or milk chocolate without additives);
- 0.5 cups of sugar;
- glass of water;
- 1 tsp oils.
Cooking Chocolate Candied Orange
Preparing a treat like this:
- Remove the peel from the oranges, after thoroughly washing the fruit. Cut the white film and put it in cold water for 12 hours (it would be wise to just leave it overnight). By the way, so that the crusts do not float on the surface, but are immersed in water, they can be slightly pressed down with a plate with a load. During this time, it is advisable to replace water at least once.
- Put the crusts in a colander and wait until the liquid has completely drained. After that, you need to cut the crusts into small strips, the width of which should be approximately 0.5 cm.
- Put the prepared crusts in a pan, fill with water and add sugar. Cook for about 5 minutes, and then take out and let the water drain. After that, dry the crusts on a paper towel.
- We drown chocolate with butter in a water bath (as an alternative, you can use the microwave). Chocolate icing should form, which must be left to cool.
- Strips of candied orange peel should be dipped in chocolate until the middle. Gently lay them on parchment paper. Leave for 1 hour. Make sure that the crusts do not touch each other.
Quick Recipe for Candied Orange
We try to minimize cooking time with the help of a quick recipe for candied orange peels. For cooking, you need the following ingredients:
- 5 oranges (only crusts will be needed);
- 2 tbsp. Sahara;
- 2 tsp salts;
- 1 lemon (only juice from this fruit is needed);
- water (it will take a lot of water - about 10 l);
- powdered sugar.
Cooking Candied Orange
- Wash the oranges thoroughly, and then clear them of the crusts, which we then put on the fire (you need to fill them with 2.5 liters of water). After boiling, cook the crust for 10 minutes, and then throw it on a colander and send it for several minutes under cold water. Then we repeat this operation again. With only one difference. This time, you need to add a small spoonful of salt to the water to better deal with bitterness. The third time we do exactly the same operations as the second.
- Dissolve sugar in a glass of hot water, bring to a boil and lower the orange strips. Cook for 40 minutes. During this time, the syrup is almost completely respected. Making candied orange peels in a quick way suggests that you will need to introduce lemon juice closer to the end of cooking. Tilt in a colander when the crusts become almost transparent.
- Cover the pan with parchment paper and put on it candied orange peels, the recipe of which is given above. You can simply leave it in the room for several hours or shift it to a warm place (for example, near the battery).
Sprinkle the finished candied orange with powdered sugar.
Candied Orange Jam
Candied orange peel in jam is incredibly tasty, so you should pay attention to their preparation and allocate time for it.
So, the following ingredients will be required:
- 6 oranges;
- 2 lemons (of which only juice will be needed);
- 400 grams of sugar;
- 600 ml of water.
Stages of jam preparation
The first step is to thoroughly wash the oranges. After that, peel the fruits and cut them into thin strips. We put the prepared crusts in a large bowl, into which after we add cold water. Soak for a day, changing the water from time to time (here, the more often the water is replaced, the better).
After this time, the white part on the crusts will soften, and it will need to be carefully cut.
Each strip needs to be twisted into a spiral and carefully strung on a thread. Put such peculiar beads in a pan with ice water, and then send to the fire. The recipe for candied orange peel for jam suggests that at this stage they need to be cooked for 15 minutes over low heat. After draining the water and pour a new one. We follow the same algorithm three times.
With special responsibility you need to treat the preparation of syrup, since what will be the jam depends on its consistency. So, if the syrup is too liquid, then you get candied fruit in a compote. It will also, of course, be delicious, but not at all what was planned. And if you overdo it, you get candied fruits in caramel, which you will need to literally gnaw off from the can.
To cook it in a wide pan, pour water, add sugar and bring to a boil. We cook the syrup over medium heat, constantly monitoring its degree of readiness. To do this, it will be enough to drip the syrup on a plate. Focus on the dryness of this droplet. That is, if you can put a finger on a drop and it stays dry, then the orange syrup is ready. You can turn off the fire, wait for the syrup to cool, and add lemon juice to it.
Prepared spirals need to be filled with syrup and send them to the fire. After the jam begins to boil, you need to remove it from the stove, and after cooling, carefully pull the spirals from the threads.
Sterilize jars and pour jam with candied orange peel on them. Sometimes this jam is boiled in small portions to make the tea party more aromatic and tasty.
Now you know how to make candied orange peels. Don't be afraid to experiment by adding new flavors to your favorite sweets.