Homemade Candied Orange Peel

I love finding ways to turn simple ingredients into something special, and candied citrus peel is one of those little kitchen joys—an easy, delicious way to preserve citrus rinds instead of tossing them. Today, we’ll explore just how versatile and worthwhile this treat is.

Once you master this method, you won’t stop at citrus—ginger can be candied just as easily! Candied orange and ginger add incredible flavor to baked treats, making them a must-have in any foodie’s kitchen.

I don’t like wasting things. So whenever I find an opportunity to turn and normally discarded part of food into something edible and delicious you know I’m going to jump on it!

You might be wondering why you would want to candy citrus peel.

Candied orange and ginger are often used in baking recipes. They have so much flavor. Once you bake with them you’ll be hooked!

After making this candied orange peel, I whipped up a batch of Cranberry Orange Scones.

The candied orange peel gave these scones a next-level flavor and the chewy bits of candied orange added to the texture experience of eating these scones.

You, of course, can buy candied orange peel and candied ginger in the store but it’s rather pricey.

If you can make it at home for pennies then I say let’s do that.

What is Candying?

The method of Candying is basically cooking the citrus rind in a sugar syrup until the peels are infused with the sugar.

After you boil the citrus rinds in sugar syrup they are taken out to dry, then they are rolled in sugar.

This method is best used for orange peels, lemon peels, grapefruit and pomelo peels.

Ingredients Needed to Candy Citrus Peels

• Citrus Peels: This recipe calls for five oranges. You can use almost any type of citrus. You want to buy unwaxed citrus for this process or use a fruit wash (affiliate link) to remove the wax.
• Sugar: Plain granulated white sugar is best for this recipe.
• Water: To make the simple syrup.

Special Equipment

Here are a few things that make candying a little bit easier.

• Wire rack: (affiliate link) A wire rack is helpful for drying. If you don’t have one you can use parchment paper but your citrus rind will take longer to dry out on the parchment paper.
• Quart sized jars: (affiliate link) You will want to store your candied citrus in airtight jars.
• Large pot: (affiliate link) I usually use my 6-quart Dutch oven for this application. Any 6-quart saucepan will do.

How To Make Candied Orange Peel

Peel the oranges

Remove the peels from the oranges by slicing them in quarters and then carefully removing the peels.

Boil the orange peels

Boiling removes any bitterness that the citrus peels may have.

• Add the orange peels to your saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Then drain.
• Repeat step one.
• For the third boil, simmer for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander.

Simmer the orange peels in sugar syrup

• Make the sugar syrup: Add the sugar, water, and the drained orange peels to your saucepan.
• Simmer the peels: Bring to sugar syrup to a boil. Reduce the heat and then simmer for 30 minutes, or until the peels start to look translucent.

PRO-TIP: Save the orange scented simple syrup to use in cocktails or tea.

Dry the candied peel on a wire rack

• Cool: Allow the sugar syrup to cool with the orange peels in it for about 30 minutes.
• Remove peels: Use a fork to remove the peels and place them on a wire rack to dry. (set over a cookie sheet to catch drips)

PRO-TIP: To speed up the drying process you can place the rack in a warm oven (200℉) for about an hour.

Toss the dried peel in sugar

• Place the sugar in a bowl: Use about a cup or so of sugar to start.
• Toss: until each peel is coated in sugar. I use chopsticks for this.
• Remove and dry: Remove the peels and dry a second time.

PRO-TIP: I save the orange scented sugar to use baking.

Store in an airtight container

What can you make with candied orange peel?

• Cranberry Orange Scones
• Chocolate-Dipped Orange Peel