- 3 large navel oranges, washed and dried
- 2¼ cups granulated sugar, plus 1 cup for coating the cooked peel
- 1½ cups water, preferably still spring or filtered water
- Additional water (good tap water is fine for this) for blanching, and for washing down the sides of the pot
- Cut the oranges in quarters and juice them into a clean container. (Reserve this juice for another use, or freeze until needed.) With a teaspoon or a grapefruit spoon, scrape out the pulp and membranes from the skins and discard, leaving the clean white pith on the inside of each quarter. Place the quarters colour-side up on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut the skin into ¼-to 1/3-inch-wide slices. Fill a heavy-bottomed, 2-quart saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add the slices of peel and simmer for about 5 minutes. Drain and discard the water, then fill the saucepan again with fresh water. Repeat this process of bringing the water to the boil, adding and simmering the peel and draining two more times. This process removes the bitterness from the peels, leaving only the pure orange flavour.
- When the peels have been drained for the third time, combine the 2¼ cups of sugar and the 1½ cups of water in the same saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar melts. Add the peels, bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Using a pastry brush dipped in cool water, wash down the sides of the pot, to prevent burning or crystallization of the syrup. Cook the peels for 1 to 1½ hours, until they are very soft, tender and sweet. Most of their moisture will have been replaced with the rich sugar syrup, and they will be extremely hot, so take care when removing them from the syrup.
- You have several choices at this point: you can leave the peels in their lovely syrup, in which they will stay very moist and flexible, or you can roll the peels in the reserved sugar, dry them and use for garnishing desserts, or as a confection. I usually make some of each—the recipe is generous, and I can always find uses for either! For moist peel, simply cool the peels and their syrup until just lukewarm, then transfer the whole lot to a clean container, cover and refrigerate. The peel and syrup will keep for up to 3 weeks; if any suspicious-looking white, furry or unidentified patches appear on the surface of the mixture, however, discard the batch, as it has likely been infiltrated by yeasts or moulds.
- For dried, sugared peel, spread the reserved 1 cup of sugar on a baking sheet. Have ready a large wire rack set over another baking sheet or piece of parchment paper. Remove the strips of peel from the hot syrup and place them on the sugared tray. Roll each piece in the sugar until well coated, then transfer it to the wire rack. Make sure the peels are not touching, and that there is enough space around each one for air to circulate. When all of the pieces are sugared, leave the peels on the rack at room temperature overnight or until dry. (This should not be attempted in humid weather.) Store the sugared peel, layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 2 weeks. The syrup can be kept as well, stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, for 2 to 3 weeks.