Italian Style Candied Peel

Italian Style Candied Peel is wonderful. This version is so much better than the chopped mixel peel you can buy in stores.

Often, in fact probably always, the mixed peel you can buy in stores is very hard when you bite into it. Not an entirely pleasant experience when eating a fruit cake. This Italian Style Candied Peel is different to that, since it is soft. That softness comes from cooking the peel for a sufficient time early on in the recipe.

I should issue a warning that the recipe takes a long time. Indeed it takes about 11 days to make. However very little time is needed on each of those days. The result is wonderfully soft candied peel. It is just the type of peel that Italians put in panettone, which imparts a wonderful flavour.

Ingredients For Italian Style Candied Peel

Peel, with pith on – Orange or Lemon peel from 2kg of fruit.

Sugar – I use caster sugar but granulated is fine. For my recipe 725g to start, then 125g more each day for 7 days. See the process for adjusting the amount if using less water for the syrup.

Glucose – This is added to the syrup as the final step, to prevent crystallisation during storage.

Process for Italian Style Candied Peel

Initial Preparation

Take the quartered peel of 2kg of oranges or lemon, including the pith. Freeze it for at least 12 hours. That helps to break down the structure of the peel. Then thaw out the peel, in water. Drain it and then soak in water for 3 days(loosely cover it and store in the fridge), changing the water twice each day.

After 3 days the soaking and changing the water will have helped to remove bitterness from the pith.

Softening The Peel

Drain the peel and place in a large saucepan. Cover it with 2 litres(8 cups) of water. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer it until the peel is so soft that a skewer, or knife, slides through it with no resistance at all. This will take at least an hour and will take longer for thicker peel. However soft the peel is at this stage is how soft the end result will be.

Drain the peel and plunge it into cold water to cool it.

Making the Candied Peel

In the recipe I give volumes of water and sugar. This is a guide. You may need less than what I specify. The important thing is to use enough to cover the peel as each time. If you wish to adjust the amount just ensure you retain the ratio of water to sugar. I use 1.2 litres water to 725g sugar (about 10 to 6 ratio) to start. Then, later I use an additional 125g sugar every day for seven days(so that is 10 to 1 from the original volume of water).

Put the water and starting sugar into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, giving it a stir to dissolve the sugar. Drain the cooled peel and place in a large container.

When the water and sugar comes a a boil pour it over the peel. Ensure all the peel is submerged. Leave it to cool. Then cover and place in the fridge.

Then for the next 7 days drain the syrup into a saucepan, add 125g sugar and bring to a boil. As soon as it boils pour it over the peel, cool and store again.

Final Steps In Making Candied Peel

After seven days drain the syrup into a large bowl, ensuring all the syrup drips off the peel. Cut the peel into smaller pieces and place into sterilised jars.

Now boil enough syrup to cover the peel in the jars. You wont need all the available syrup, so measure out as much as you think and then for each 100g of syrup add 10g of liquid glucose. The glucose will help prevent the syrup from crystallising during storage. Bring it to a boil and pour it over the peel. Then seal the jars.

Once they have cooled they will keep well, until you need it. Then just open a jar and take out what you need and cut into pieces.

My Peel

Although for the recipe I used orange peel I also did the same with lemon peel. The peel was so lovely and soft and full of flavour, with no bitterness. Just perfect for baking with.

In addition to storing in jars you can slice into strips and then place on a rack and leave to dry out and crystallise if you wish.

You can use the excess syrup for other things, like brushing on cakes. Thickening by more boiling to become an invert syrup.

A recipe that uses peel is Perfectly Fruity Muffins.

Italian Style Candied Peel

Recipe by geoffcoo

Course: Stove top/SavouryCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

40

servings

Prep time(excl waiting)

2

hours 

Cooking time(over 8 days)

1

hour 

20

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Peel & Pith from 2kg oranges(4.4 lbs)

• 1.6kg(8 cups) caster sugar 725g at first, then 125g per day for 7 days.

• 1.2 litres(5 cups) water for the syrup

• Liquid Glucose as needed (I used 100g)

Directions

• You need to start with the peel and pith removed from 2kg of oranges.
• Freeze those for at least 12 hours.
• Put the frozen peel in a bowl of cold water and leave to thaw.
• Discard the water.
• Soak the peels in fresh water for three days, changing the water twice each day. Keep it in the fridge, loosely covered.
• After three days discard the water and place the peels into a large saucepan, with 2 litres(8 cups) of water.
• Bring the water to a boil and then simmer until the peel is soft enough that a skewer, or knife, slides through with no resistance. So the peel must be very soft. This can take an hour, or even two hours.
• Drain the peel and place into a bowl of cold water to cool.
• Place 1.2 litres(5 cups) of water into a saucepan with the initial(725g) sugar.
• Bring it to a boil, dissolving the sugar into the water.
• Drain the cooled peel and place in a large container, with enough room to cover in syrup.
• Pour the syrup over the peels, covering them entirely. Weigh them down if necessary.
• Leave to cool then cover and place in the fridge until tomorrow.
• The next day, and for each of the following 6 days, drains the syrup into a saucepan.
• Add 125g sugar and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the additional sugar.
• Pour the syrup over the peels and leave to cool before covering and placing in the fridge again.
• After 7 days drain the peels. patting dry.
• Cut into smaller pieces, if you wish, and place into sterilised jars.
• Boil enough syrup, in a ratio of 10 parts syrup and 1 part glucose, to fill the jars with the peel in.
  I needed 1kg syrup and 100g glucose.
• Pour the syrup into the jars to cover the peel. Then put on the lids and leave to cool completely before storing.