Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 6 lemons (I used small lemon, if it medium use 4)
  • 2 cup sugar+ 3 tablespoon
  • 4 navel oranges
  • 1 ½ cup sugar + 3 tablespoon
  • 4 cup water for making sugar syrup

Instruction

  • Slice the lemons( oranges) into four quarters lengthwise.
  • Peel the lemon/orange flesh away from the peels. Reserve for another use.
  • With a small, sharp-edged spoon or melon scoop to scrape the tough fibrous parts off of the inner peel, leaving a thin layer of white left behind on the peel.
  • Slice the peels into thin strips.
  • Alternatively, for thinner and daintier decorative peels, you can use a serrated peeler to scrape yellow strips from the exterior of the lemon peel. Cut those peels into thin slices.
  • Place the peels into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil for 2 minutes.
  • Drain the peels in a colander.
  • Cover with water again. Bring to a boil for another 2 minutes then drain again in a colander. The boil and drain process helps to cook out any bitter flavor from the peels. You can boil and drain up to three times
  • When you're finished boiling and draining, in a sauce pan add 3cups of water along with 2 cups of sugar. Stir with a whisk while the water heats, till all of the sugar is dissolved.
  • Add peels to the saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
  • Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the peels simmer for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Different sized peels will take different amounts of time to cook. The peels are ready when they're transparent and easy to bite through.
  • Drain the peels. If you want to, you can strain the peels through a mesh strainer, letting the liquid stream into a jar. The leftover lemon/orange flavored simple syrup can be used to flavor drinks and cocktails. It will be thick syrup, and sugar crystals may collect in the jar over time. You can reconstitute the syrup by adding water and stirring over moderate heat if the syrup becomes overly thick.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the peels out in an even layer on the parchment. Let the peels cool for about 3 minutes till tacky to the touch.
  • In small bowl add 3 tablespoon of sugar. Dip the peels into the sugar till coated. Sugar coating the peels will add sweetness and help to keep them from sticking together.
  • Alternatively, you may let the peels dry as-is for a deeper yellow /orangecolor and a gel-like texture.
  • Place the peels back on the parchment. Let them dry for 2-3 hours longer if they are sugar coated and overnight if they are not.
  • Enjoy by dipping them into chocolate or in bakes.
  • For candied orange peel
  • All the steps are same except blanching is done for 5 minutes intervals.
  • Also amount of water used for sugar syrup for cooking orange peel is 4 cups and used only 11/2cup sugar to make candied orange peels from 4 navel oranges.