Satsuma @Satsuma@cat.family

@Betty oh no 😅crank the heat all the way up?

@rigormorphis hillarious and relatable honestly

@wallhackio we’ve really gotta mod this instance to allow polls and photos on the same post

@soph_sol if you end up trying any of them please do let me know how they came out!

@soph_sol ah yes already spotted one thing i forgot: this makes about enough syrup to cover the peel *after* ive taken out the 8 oz i use for the fruitcake bars, which i neither store in syrup nor dry but instead immediately drop in the recipes overnight rum maceration container. if you wanted enough syrup to cover all the peel you’d probably need to double the sugar?

and the reason you might want to store the peels in syrup instead of air drying is bc we like the moister texture when putting candied orange peel in baked goods (besides the fruitcake, my kings cake for carnival season calls for orange peel). if you aren’t using them for baking projects i would probably just dry them

@soph_sol if you dont care about the syrup being useable you can be a lot looser with temps but the syrup is the best part!!!!!

@soph_sol lmk if you have questions!! my recipe card for this is WILDLY insufficient on details (its just the weights and the final temp lmao) so i just tried to write out all the steps it skipped but i’m sure i missed something obvious 😅

@soph_sol if you dont care how the peels look, peel them however is most convenient but if you are aiming for long & attractive looking strips, cut the stem and blossom ends off the orange, aiming to get 100% of the peel off but not cut TOO much into the flesh and then halve the orange vertically from top to bottom (this is hard to describe but you’re aiming to make strips that go roughly 1/2 the circumference of the orange) then carefully work your nail under one of the short edges and work your way across the fruit, keeping the whole thing as intact and un-raggedy as possible. Cut these lengthwise into strips of the width you want

put the peel in a pot with room to fully submerge them in syrup—if you have a choice between shallow and wide or tall and narrow go for the narrow option. for every ~10 oz of orange peel you have, add 20 oz sugar to the pot, then cover this with a generous amount of water. throw in a cinnamon stick or some cloves if your tastes run that way.

simmer until the peels are tender (the white pith will become somewhat translucent and notably softer) and then turn up the heat and cook further until it reaches 220f (if you live enough above sea level that it impacts your baking, look up an altitude conversion chart for candymaking — this should be about the same temp people local to you boil maple syrup to)

at this point if you have enough syrup you can dump all your peels into a quart jar and then cover them completely with syrup and store them in the fridge that way—as long as the peels are 100% covered i’ve found this (and candied ginger which i do the same way) to be relatively fridge stable. Otherwise pull them out and lay them on a cooling rack to air dry—usually i find it takes ~24 hrs, but it can take longer if its esp humid. if you like the rolled in sugar look, roll them in sugar before they go on the cooling rack but i prefer just drying them plain. save the now orange peel flavored syrup to use however you use honey or maple syrup, or it makes a nice drink if you dilute it with sparkling water