Orange Peel - Craggagh National School Co Mayo

Candied Citrus Peel

Breaking News!

Waste not, want not: Up to 50 mandarin peels have been saved from the ignominy of the compost heap by those gallant cooks in 2nd, 3rd & 4th class.
Faced with a huge pile of peel, left over from their "Food Dudes" treat, the children decided to put those peels to use by making these delicious "Candied Citrus Peels".

Here's how:

Ingredients

•    Orange rind or grapefruit rind
  

•    Granulated sugar
  

•    Water
  

Method

Grapefruit skins are much thicker than other citrus skins. Cooking them a while in boiling water helps loosen up the white pithy part so it is easier to scrape off.

1 Scrub the outside rinds thoroughly to remove any dirt. Put rind in cold water, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat this process two more times. Drain, rinse with cold water, and scrape away the pithy white part of the peel. Slice into strips.

2 For each cup of rind, prepare a sugar syrup of 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water. Put rind in syrup and cook slowly until syrup is completely absorbed - several hours. Stir occassionally and watch carefully near the end of the process.

3 Cool the peel and coat the strips with granulated sugar. Dry overnight on a rack. The sugared peel, when dry, may be dipped into melted semisweet chocolate.