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Pastries, desserts or muesli – refined with candied lemon peel and candied orange peel, everything is much more aromatic and delicious. Have you ever tried it? Here I show you how to make candied lemon peel and candied orange peel at home. The recipe for this is very simple, and the homemade candied citrus peel pieces are much better than those from the supermarket. Why this is so, and what you should consider when making candied citrus peels, you will learn in this post.
A detailed recipe for candied orange peel and candied lemon peel with quantities and step-by-step instructions can be found below.
What are candied orange peel and candied lemon peel?
Candied orange peel or candied lemon peel are candied peels of bitter oranges or lemons cut into small pieces. These oranges and lemons have much thicker peel than other varieties of oranges and lemons. For candying, fresh citrus peels are heavily sweetened, and their liquid is removed from them at the same time. This preserves the fruit in a particular way. In the past, this method was used to preserve exotic fruits for a long time. Nowadays, candied orange peel and candied lemon peel are mainly used to refine baked goods. Candied citrus peel pieces have become an indispensable part of Christmas baking.
Which fruits do I use for candying the peels?
If you don’t have bitter oranges and lemons at hand, you can also make candied orange peel and candied lemon peel at home from conventional oranges and lemons. But use citrus fruits in organic quality. These are less contaminated with sprays. So you avoid pesticides that accumulate in the peel. The white inside of ordinary lemons and oranges should be removed from the peel. If you use bitter oranges or lemons to make candied orange or lemon peel, the white inside should be left.
Making candied orange peel and candied lemon peel at home: the advantages
Making candied lemon peels at home instead of buying some has many advantages. First and foremost, the homemade candied peels taste better. They are much more fruity and aromatic than those from the supermarket. The other advantage is that you determine which ingredients you use to make them yourself. This way you can avoid unhealthy preservatives and additives, which really have no place in food. In addition, you avoid packaging waste when you make candied lemon peel and candied orange peel at home. It is also very easy to make the candied peel pieces. All you need are untreated oranges or lemons, sugar and water.
For Easter or Christmas: for kulich, stollen and co.
Candied citrus peel pieces are a must for Christmas and Easter baking. With the homemade candied orange peel and lemon peel, the pastries taste much better and are incredibly aromatic. So it is worth to make the candied orange peel and citron peel at home. For example, people like to bake Russian kulich with them. For the puff pastry kulich, I made the candied orange peel and candied lemon peel myself beforehand and then baked the Easter bread with it. And it tasted much, much better than with candied fruit from the supermarket. Try additionally to bake the classical kulich, kulich with curd, kulich with sour cream or kulich from choux pastry with it. Homemade candied citrus peel pieces are also ideal for Christmas cookies. You can bake stollen, for example the curd stollen, gingerbread and much more at Christmas with it.
Making candied citrus peels for desserts and co.
But enjoying homemade candied citrus peels is not only allowed at Christmas or Easter. For example, you can put them in your homemade granola or other muesli and enjoy them for breakfast during the week. They are also perfect to add to desserts or fruit salads. Various cakes become very aromatic with the candied fruit peels.
How much candied orange peel or lemon peel does the recipe yield?
I used four organic oranges and lemons to make candied orange peel and candied lemon peel. The oranges were quite large and the lemons somewhat smaller. I peeled the citrus fruits with a peeler, so I only got the outer peel without the white inside, which contains many bitter substances. The peels of these four oranges or four lemons gave me about 125 g of candied orange peel and 95 g of candied lemon peel.
Storing homemade candied orange peel and candied lemon peel
You should store the homemade candied citrus peel pieces in airtight containers, such as screw-top or canning jars. However, before you put them in the jars, you should let them dry thoroughly. Store the homemade candied lemon peel or candied orange peel in the refrigerator after you have divided them among the jars. This way you can enjoy the aromatic candied peels for several weeks.
This homemade candied orange peel or lemon peel
- is very aromatic,
- is fruity,
- is delicious,
- is much tastier than those from the supermarket,
- is without preservatives,
- is without additives,
- is easy to make from three ingredients
- keeps for several weeks in the refrigerator,
- is ideal for baking.
How to make candied orange peel and candied lemon peel at home
The quantities you can use as a guide and step-by-step instructions for making candied candied orange peel and candied lemon peel at home can be found at the bottom of the recipe box.
To make the candied citrus peel pieces, all you need are oranges or lemons, sugar and water. Since the peel of conventional citrus fruits contains the most pesticides, use organic oranges and lemons for the recipe.
- First you need to peel oranges or lemons, depending on whether you want to make candied orange peel or candied lemon peel. Remove the white inside from the peels, as it tastes very bitter.
- Now cut the peels into small cubes and boil them briefly in water.
- Afterwards, drain the peels, weigh them and add them to the saucepan along with the same amount of sugar. Add enough water to very barely cover the peels with the sugar, and simmer for 40-60 minutes until the peels are dark orange or dark yellow as well as glazed, and the sugar syrup is viscous.
- Now pour off the sugar syrup and let the peels dry for a few days. Done.
How to make candied lemon peel and candied orange peel at home: tips and tricks
- Use organic oranges and lemons for making candied citrus peels, respectively, to avoid sprays in the peel of conventional citrus fruits.
- If you have bitter oranges and lemons, use the peels along with the white inside to make candied citrus peels. If you take ordinary oranges and lemons, the white inside should be removed from the peel, as it contains many bitter substances.
- The best way to peel ordinary oranges and lemons is with a peeler. This allows you to thinly slice off the outer peel, leaving the white interior on the citrus fruit.
- The amount of sugar you need for candying depends on the weight of the citrus peels after cooking. You’ll need the same amount of sugar as how much the peels weigh after cooking.
- You should simmer the peels in sugar syrup in the saucepan without a lid to allow the liquid to escape.
- The cooking time depends on the amount of water you added to the peels and sugar. The more water you added, the longer you have to simmer the sugar syrup.
- Do not throw away the sugar syrup that remains after cooking the citrus peels. You can use it to enhance desserts, sweeten drinks, or for baking.
- Instead of leaving the candied peels in the air, you can dry them in the oven at about 50 °C convection for a few hours, opening the oven door occasionally to allow the liquid to escape.
- Store the homemade candied citrus peels in canning jars in the refrigerator. They will keep for several weeks.
- The homemade candied citrus peels are perfect for baking Easter or Christmas cookies, adding to desserts, cereals and fruit salads.
Did you make candied orange peel and candied lemon peel using this recipe? I look forward to your results, your star rating, and your comment on the recipe below about how you liked the candied citrus peel pieces.
Candied orange peel and lemon peel
Ingredients
for candied orange peel
- peel of 4 organic oranges (in my case after cooking 120 g)
- approx. 120 g sugar
- approx. 120 ml water
- water for boiling the orange peel
for candied lemon peel
- peel of 4 organic lemons (in my case after cooking 95 g)
- approx. 95 g sugar
- approx. 95 ml water
- water for cooking the lemon peel
Instructions
- Peel oranges or lemons (e.g. with a peeler), removing the white inside from the peel, and cut the peel into small cubes.
- Put the diced peel in a saucepan, pour enough water over it and boil it for about 10 minutes. Then pour off the water and drain the peel pieces well.
- Weigh the cooked peel pieces and add them to the saucepan along with an equal amount of sugar. (My orange peels weighed 120 g after cooking. Accordingly, I added 120 g of sugar).
- Now add so much water to the peels with the sugar in the cooking pot that they are very barely covered with the water. (I had a Ø 16 cm saucepan and used 120 ml of water.) Put the saucepan on the stove, bring it to a boil while stirring so that the sugar dissolves before boiling, and boil it for about 40 - 60 minutes until the shells are dark orange or dark yellow as well as glassy, and the sugar syrup is viscous. (For this, note the tips and tricks for making your own candied lemon peel and candied orange peel at the top of the post).
- After cooking, put the zest pieces in a colander to drain well, and spread them out on baking paper to dry. Let them dry for 1 - 3 days, then put them in airtight containers, such as screw-top jars, and store them in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Use organic oranges and organic lemons for DIY candied orange peel and candied lemon peel, respectively.
- The white interior should be removed from the peel before candying.
- Simmer the peels in sugar syrup in a saucepan without a lid to allow the liquid to escape.
- Instead of air-drying, the candied peels can be dried in the oven at about 50 °C convection for a few hours.
- Note the detailed tips and tricks for making candied orange peel and lemon peel at home at the top of the post.