Candied Orange Rinds

I had to make candied orange rinds because it is an essential ingredient for the German Christmas sweet Lebkuchen, the subject of my December newsletter.

In Germany, you can buy orangeat, as candied orange peels are called there, in every supermarket. In India we have to make them ourselves. Luckily, it is very easy to do. I have surfed the net and found wildly different recipes. This recipe is the result of trial and error.

My only concern is that I did not manage to find organically grown oranges, although I tried. The skin of commercial oranges tends to be polluted by pesticides and industrial wax to prolong the shelf lives. That’s why I immersed the oranges in a vinegar-salt-solution for several hours before using them.

If you can, use organic fruits. You can use this recipe to make candied lime or lemon rind also.

Wishing you happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

Ingredients (for around one cup):

• 2 oranges
• ½ cup synthetic vinegar
• ½ cup salt
• 1 cup sugar
• water

Method:
I keep the oranges in a vinegar-salt-solution to remove as much wax as possible from the skin.

Place the vinegar and the salt in a bowl, add one cup hot water and stir until the salt has dissolved. Keep the oranges three hours or up to one day in this solution, turning them every couple of hours because they float.

Peel the oranges with a potato peeler.

If you want to coat the orange rind in chocolate or use it for other decorative purposes, cut the skin into shape now.

Place the rinds into a pot, cover them with cold water and bring the water to the boil for one minute. This is called blanching. It reduces the bitterness of the skin. Drain the peels and repeat the process. Two times is enough for me. If you are very sensitive to bitterness, you might want to do it three times. However, blanching diminishes the taste of the rinds.

Place the sugar with one cup of water into a pot. Switch on the fire and keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved. When the syrup is boiling, add the orange rinds and reduce the flame to low.

The rinds have to simmer gently.
If the sugar gets too hot, it will crystallize leaving you with an orange mess. If you see that the sugar syrup bubbles wildly, switch off the heat for a little while or use a heat diffuser.
Avoid stirring the rinds frequently because movement can also cause the sugar to turn into crystals. You want the orange rinds covered in smooth syrup.

How long you boil the rinds, depends upon your taste. Recipes vary from 15 minutes to several hours. I think 1 ½ to two hours gives the best results.
When the orange rinds have turned translucent, switch off the heat and let them cool down for a quarter of an hour. Don’t handle hot sugar if you can avoid it. Hot sugar is very dangerous. It clings to the skin and causes terrible burns. I write from experience.

Remove the rinds from the syrup and put them onto a non-sticky surface. I have used my chopping board. You can also use a silicone sheet or wax paper. Let them dry overnight. Place them into an airtight container. You can keep them for several weeks in the fridge.

Some people like to coat orange rinds with molten chocolate. I personally hate the combination of orange and chocolate but like everything in life this is a matter of taste.