Orange Peel Candy (How to Make Candied Peels)

5 from 3 votes

A delectable snack, this orange peel candy is not only easy to prepare, it's super yummy too. Learn how to make your own candied peels here!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Drying Time30

Total Time1 5

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: cup

Calories: 642.1kcal

Slice off the skin of the orange.
Using a sharp knife, slice off as much of the white pith that is attached to the orange peel slices as possible.
Cut the peels to about 1mm to 2mm wide and about 2cm to 3cm long.
Fill a medium-sized saucepan with 500ml water.
Turn on the heat and let the water boil. Add the cut orange peels and cook them in medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Strain the orange peels and discard the water.
Return the saucepan to the stove to make the simple syrup.
Add water and sugar and turn on the heat to a medium flame.
Once the sugar is dissolved, reduce the flame to a low heat. Add the strained peels and cook for about 10 minutes, until the orange peels turn translucent.
Strain the syrup.
Let the candied peels dry slightly in the strainer for about 10 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl of granulated sugar. Use a fork to mix the peels in the sugar until they are well coated.
Place the sugar-coated candied orange peels on a parchment-lined tray and let them dry for about 30 minutes.
Store the candied orange peels in an airtight container.

Once the orange peel is cut, cook and candy them on the same day to avoid them from becoming dry. Dry orange peels will make make hard candy that is difficult to chew.
The syrup for this candied orange peel has a 1 to 1 ratio of sugar and water. Both need to be increased proportionately if you are making a larger batch of candied orange peels.
When boiling the orange peel in the syrup, take note to use a low heat. This is to ensure the syrup does not thicken up too fast. If it does, you will have a problem straining it out once the orange peels are cooked.
The drained citrus syrup (once the orange peel strips are candied) can be stored for other uses. This orange-infused sugar syrup can be mixed into drinks for a lovely citrus-flavored drink.
The best way to dry the peels is to first, strain the syrup out. Leave them in the strainer for about 10 minutes and then dip them in sugar.
Avoid leaving the candied peels in the strainer for too long. You need to coat these peels in sugar while they are still wet. If the sugar syrup coating dries out, the granulated sugar will not stick to the peels.

To make vanilla flavored orange peels, add the scrapings of half a vanilla bean into the sugar syrup when cooking the peels. Drain and coat in granulated sugar as usual, as indicated in the recipe card.
The best sugar to use for coating the candied orange peel is granulated sugar (caster sugar). You can also use brown sugar, but make sure it is fine brown sugar.
To make chocolate dipped orange peels, instead of coating the cooked peels in sugar, you coat them in chocolate. Melt some dark chocolate in a small bowl (either in a double boiler or microwave) and dip each cooked peel strip into the melted chocolate. Lift with a fork and place them on wire rack to let excess chocolate drip off or if there is not much excess chocolate, place the strips on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Let the chocolate set before serving.