Here's what I did for 6 large oranges and it was delicious.
Peel oranges and trim off most of white pith. I did this by slicing through peel on navel oranges with a paring knife into about 8 segments (vertically) and then removing them. Lay them on a flat board and 'fillet' off the pith. You want just a little pith left on.
Next slice segments in to thin strands 1/4 inch or narrower.
Place in a few cups of water in sauce pan and boil for 5 minutes. Drain and repeat twice more bringing to a full boil for 5 minutes each time. This removes bitterness from peel and jump starts cooking - do not skip.
Candy:
3 C sugar
1.5 C water
juice of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick.
Bring this to a boil and cook for a couple of minutes. Add drained peel and reboil, stirring occasionally. Cook until peel becomes translucent. This took about 25 minutes but I think it might take less time or a little more time depending on the variety of orange.
Remove from pan - use tongs and save the sugar syrup. It's delicious and would be great in drinks, etc. Separate orange pieces and let cool on wire racks for a few minutes. Roll in granulated sugar and place on racks to dry. This will need to air dry for at least 24 hours.
Dipping in chocolate: Only after slices are fully dried... Melt chocolate bits (60 percent cocoa) and dip one end of each slice into chocolate - dry on rack.
Some hints:
- Place your racks on parchment in a sheet pan, so you can move them around easily during drying and to contain sugar mess.
- For boiling in sugar: use a pan a little deeper than mine - it splatters a fine mist of sugar and taller sides would be easier to clean up.
