xmascarol1
Senior Cook
Are you making some of this for Christmas? Now's the time. Every school group is selling those boxes of oranges or grapefruit that somebody goes down and picks up in Florida or Texas and they sure are lovely. I can hardly stand to let any of the peels go to waste too. So for years I've always volunteered to peel any of the citrus that anyone in the family wants to eat so I can save the peels. I used to peel the whole fruit and then boil the peelings in two or three pots of water and then scrape the white part off the rind. Then I proceeded to candy the julienned rinds. Now I just take a apple peeler and peel off just the rinds, leaving the white stuff there on the fruit.
Here's what I do to candy the peel. After you blanche the orange peel for 5 min. in boiling water, add them to a syrup made of 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Boil this for 15 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup water, and boil for another 15 minutes, but WATCH it this time so it doesn't boil dry. The peel will be translucent. Lift each piece out with tongs or a fork, shake it in a bowl of granulated sugar and place on a rack over a silicone sheet (to catch the drippings). Let them cool. Store in an airtight tin. But some of them you'll want to dip in chocolate! When you make those chocolate sticks, give a few to some of your martini afficienado friends, for them to use as swizzle sticks in their chocolate orange martinis!
45 years ago when I first was married, I candied whole orange peels that I used then as the cups to bake fruit cakes in. When you sliced it, the orange peel surrounded the little circle of fruit cake that had been drizzled with brandy. Oh my goodness, that was cake from heaven.
Let me hear your recipes for candied orange or grapefruit peel. Did anyone ever candy lemon peel?
Here's what I do to candy the peel. After you blanche the orange peel for 5 min. in boiling water, add them to a syrup made of 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Boil this for 15 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup water, and boil for another 15 minutes, but WATCH it this time so it doesn't boil dry. The peel will be translucent. Lift each piece out with tongs or a fork, shake it in a bowl of granulated sugar and place on a rack over a silicone sheet (to catch the drippings). Let them cool. Store in an airtight tin. But some of them you'll want to dip in chocolate! When you make those chocolate sticks, give a few to some of your martini afficienado friends, for them to use as swizzle sticks in their chocolate orange martinis!
45 years ago when I first was married, I candied whole orange peels that I used then as the cups to bake fruit cakes in. When you sliced it, the orange peel surrounded the little circle of fruit cake that had been drizzled with brandy. Oh my goodness, that was cake from heaven.
Let me hear your recipes for candied orange or grapefruit peel. Did anyone ever candy lemon peel?
it makes a great hostess gift during the holidays. 
