Ingredients
- 4 navel oranges, with skin as thick as possible
- 2 - 2½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (to keep the simple syrup from crystallizing)
Directions:
- Cut the navel oranges in quarters lengthwise.
- Peel the skin off. If part of the white pith comes off that is fine, but otherwise, there is no need to pull the pith off the peel. (Save the oranges for eating or putting in a fruit smoothie, or another use.)
- Put the quarters of peel (with pith, although my picture shows some without because I was trying the recipe both ways) into a pot of cold water and bring the water to a boil. Let the water boil for 2-3 minutes, then drain it and run cold water over the quarters of peel.
- Repeat the boiling process two more times. The final (third) time, let the water boil for 5-8 minutes. During the first boiling, the orange peel quarters will float, but as they become more water-logged they will sink.
- After the third boiling, drain the water, run cold water over the quarters of peel and leave them aside to cool as you prepare the simple syrup.
- Put 1½ cups of the sugar, the cream of tartar, and ¾ cup of water in the pot, cover it and slowly melt the sugar under a low light, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has completely melted and the liquid becomes entirely transparent. If the liquid is still translucent, then the sugar is not yet completely dissolved.
- Cut the now-cooled orange peel quarters into thin strips, preferably between ⅛ - ¼ inch wide.
- Put the strips of orange peel into the simple syrup, bring it to a boil and keep boiling it for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is gone and the peels are shiny
- Remove the peels from the pot with a set of tongs or a large fork and place them
- on cookie sheets, cooling racks or wax paper. If there is more than a smidgen of simple syrup left, save it for other uses. Simple syrup is great for sweetening room temperature or cold drinks or desserts when you don't want to use honey and you also do not want undissolved sugar crystals. If there isn't enough to save or you don't want it, make sure to dispose of the syrup in the trash or dissolve it in a considerable amount of hot water, rather than pouring it down the drain undiluted.
- The peels will be quite sticky. Separate them with a fork or your hands, so that they are not touching each other much, if at all. Let them dry out for at least 5-6 hours (I left mine overnight) if you want the dusting of sugar to be light, less time for drying if you prefer a heavier coating. The peels must feel at least slightly tacky when you roll them in the sugar; otherwise the sugar won’t stick to them. If you want to dip entire slices of peel in chocolate, do it without the next (sugar coating) step. If you prefer to dip them half in sugar and half in chocolate, it's easiest to dip them in sugar first, let the sugar coating dry and then dip the slice halfway in melted bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate.
- Roll the partially dried slices of peel in ½ -1 cup of sugar. I found it easiest to use a plastic bowl with a lid, placing a few pieces in the bowl, then covering and shaking it.
- Lay the slices of peel out again to dry completely, which should only take about 2 hours.
- The orange peels can be stored for a week or longer in a tightly covered container.
