Candied Orange Peel (Scorza d'arancia candita)
From Sicily, My Sweet, by Victoria Granof
Excerpted with permission from Sicily, My Sweet: Love Notes to an Island, with Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Puddings, and Preserves by Victoria Granof; published by Hardie Grant Publishing, October 2024.
Candied Orange Peel (Scorza d'arancia candita)
Yield: about 4 cups
Ingredients:
3 large unsprayed navel oranges
Pinch of fine sea salt
2 cups (400 g) sugar
2 cups (480 ml) water
Procedure:
Slice the top and bottom off each orange, just until you expose the flesh. Now score the oranges all around, top to bottom, making your cuts ½ inch (1.3 cm) apart. Pull the peels off in strips and save the flesh for another use.
Put the peels and salt in a pot with water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 5 minutes, drain, and repeat this operation two more times, with fresh water each time. Remove the peels from the pot and set them aside.
Bring the sugar, water, and drained peels to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 5 minutes, remove from the heat, and leave the peels in the syrup, covered and at room temperature, for at least 12 hours and up to 24. Repeat this operation for 3 more days, simmering the peels over medium heat in the same syrup and leaving the covered pot at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. It will thicken more each day. On the final day, day 4 of the whole process, simmer gently, stirring, until most of the syrup is absorbed, about 30 minutes.
Rub a thin film of flavorless oil on a cooling rack set on top of a baking sheet. Remove the peels from the syrup and transfer to the rack to drain and dry until just tacky to the touch. This will take several hours and up to a day, depending on the humidity, after which you can store the peels airtight at room temperature. I like to roll them in sugar and let them dry again until no longer tacky, another day or so. Store them airtight at room temperature for up to 6 months.