Candied orange peel

Ingredients:

6–8 oranges
500 g sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place the peel into a pot and cover generously with water. Bring to the boil and continue boiling, the pot uncovered, for roughly 5 minutes. Then drain and discard the water – and repeat the whole process (these two stages remove the bitterness).

Now roll each peel into a curl and insert a tooth pick to secure. Repeat until all skin strips are rolled.

Rinse the pot thoroughly (to remove any bitter residue), pour sugar and 700 ml Water into the pot and bring to the boil. Put in all the rolled peel and make sure, that the water covers the peel (add more water, if necessary). Keep on boiling, the pot uncovered, until the syrup reduces to half.

Now drizzle in the lemon juice and keep boiling until the syrup reduces to a thick liquid, covering about half a centimeter at the bottom of the pot.

Remove from the heat and tilt the pot to one side. Spoon the syrup many times over the peel. Transfer to a plate and leave to cool completely.

Finally, pull out the toothpicks (holding down each roll with a fork so it does not unravel), put the candied peel in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving or freezing for later use.

You may also roll them in desiccated coconut flakes. Any leftover syrup can be used as jam!

Enjoy!

*For further delicious recipes from the Orient see:
LINDA DANGOOR: Flavours of Babylon (Waterpoint Press, London/UK 2014)

Fotos: Kirsten E. Lehmann