It`s difficult to explain my love for Oranges….I love them in every form possible…their sweet juicy fleshy fruit, the juice from the oranges, the fragrant zest and even its peel!!!  As a little girl, it was a pleasure to open the sweet orange peel, and see perfect fleshy oranges tightly packed, preserved in their little casings,  and enjoy its juiciness in every bite. Oranges are a great source of Vitamin C which is an excellent anti0xidant for the human body. I remember seeing baskets of Oranges sold in trains when they stop at Nagpur, India. Everytime we would buy a basket and start peeling away orange skins. I remember my sister and me used to dunk the orange slices in salt before the tastes mingled in our senses – the sweetness from the ripe oranges and the saltiness bursting through. Now when I see the navel oranges here, I miss the humble “Santra” Orange that we used to have in my childhood. But the stories of those days keep the kids enraptured through these story telling sessions…

I made a huge batch of the Candied Orange Peel last week to use for my Eggless Christmas Cake and also as a reserve for salads and soups. I hope you enjoy making them as much as I did!

INGREDIENTS:

2 Oranges.

1 cup sugar.

1 cup water.

A shallow tray with 1/3 cup sugar.

PREPARATION:

• The first step for making these candied goodies, is to peel the orange with your fingers or a peeler.  When you peel oranges with your fingers, they come off with the whitish pith inside. This part is a little bitter so it has to be pre-treated before making candied orange peel.
• Collect all the orange peels and pop them in to a shallow saucepan. Pour about 2 cups of water and let it sit on a medium flame for about 6 minutes or so. Discard the water and refill the saucepan with more fresh water.
• Pop it over the stove for another ten minutes or so and discard the water once again. This helps remove most of the bitterness from the orange peel.
• Add equal quantities of water and sugar in a container and place over a medium flame in the stove.
• When the sugar has melted and little bubbles start to form in the sugar solution, add the pre-cooked orange peels and let them simmer in the simple syrup for about 30 minutes or until you see that the orange peel has cooked well and is slowly getting transparent.

• Prep up a shallow tray with 1/3 cup sugar and spread it in to a thin layer.
• Remove the orange peels and drop them on to the sugar crystals and roll them  in to the sugar to coat them well.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Store in an air tight container for weeks.

Ah yes what more can you do with it???

1. I always used Candied Orange Peel every year during christmas to make my favourite Kerala Eggless Plum Cake.
2. How about making Orangettes by dipping one end of the candied orange peel in melted chocolate and let it sit until it cools down. Makes a great after dinner refreshment!
3. Or use the candied orange peel ground to a powder as an excellent garnish in an Orange salad or a crunchy garnish over ice cream.
4. Add powdered candied orange peel to soft butter to along with a  little orange zest, to spread over warm bread or cookies. Double yum!
5. Candied Orange Peel can be added with any fresh fruit juice that has oranges for that extra zing!
6. Combined with extra virgin olive oil and orange zest, candied orange peel makes a great salad dressing!
7. The simple orange syrup that is left behind after making the candied orange peel can be used instead of honey in cakes and instead of maple syrup over pancakes and waffles…
8. I did use it in a simple vanilla cup cake with orange cream frosting as a crunchy garnish for that oomph!
9. I am guessing it can also be used to make Pachadis and Vetha Kuzhambu too…