So I should clear up a few of the problems here...
This was a Christmas favorite when I was a kid. My mother used both orange and lemon peels, and I learned from her.
Regarding the bitterness: This comes from the oils in the peel, not from the pith, which is virtually tasteless. To reduce bitterness in the peels, drain off the boiling water, refill with cold water and bring to a boil again. The more you repeat this step, the less bitter it will be. Be careful, though, because too much boiling will render your candy tasteless. 2-3 times is usually enough. Test by tasting.
I don't remove the pith; it acts as an absorbent, soaking up the sugar syrup and giving my peels body. For that reason, I use navel oranges or thick-skinned lemons (like the huge ones that grow everywhere in Southern California).
I allow the candy to dry out until it's tacky, then toss it with sugar to finish it. (You can use colored and/or flavored sugar too.) This allows me to store it dry in containers without it getting sticky. You can dry it in a cool oven (200 degrees or less) or simply let it sit out for a few hours.
Also, try adding finely ground ginger or nutmeg to the sugar (for orange peels).
Or dip one end in melted chocolate and let cool (excellent with orange or lemon peels).
Or dip one end in thinned royal frosting and let dry (experiment with different flavors).
There is no end to the variations that are possible. Let the kids come up with thier own!
My favorite candied citrus peel is grapefruit, where you actually WANT the white part. To avoid bitterness, bring cold water and peel to a rolling boil. Drain. Repeat. For orange peel, I might do this one or two times; for grapefruit, 6 or 7. Taste it. When the peel is tender, cook it in the sugar syrup. It should be almost translucent. It keeps for weeks (months?) refrigerated – store it in syrup to keep it from drying out. I love this stuff. I candy my own orange & lemon peels for fruitcakes and other desserts.
I didn't have a problem at all with this recipe, and the lemon simple syrup that is left over is wonderful for lemon drop cocktails! In fact, I'm now using this recipe for making the syrup and not the other way around! Anyway, I prefer my candied peel to be dry and crunchy. So I leave it out in the air for a few days before storing it in an airtight container. While "curing", I shake the peels around a few times, to help separate them and keep them from turning into big blobs of candy. Once they're fully dry, they don't stick together unless they get damp. I also don't store mine in the refrigerator, but in the cupboard. Some people complained of bitterness. It is probably more to do with the lemons themselves and not with the recipe. The Meyer lemons I used are too thin-peeled to really get all of the pith off, and they came out fine. I just tried one more method for getting the peel in thin strips, without the rind. I used a citrus peeler (mine is attached to my zester, but if your zester doesn't have a peeler attached, you want the kind that bartenders use). I peeled the lemon in one long thin strip, spiraling around the lemon. If you have a spiral of peel left over, you can use your fingernail to peel it off. Make sure you chop the strips up a little bit, so that they don't get hopelessly tangled during the boiling process. I only chopped my pile into thirds, which is enough to keep most of the strips fairly long (if you want it that way) without tangling.
Delicious! I used a veggie peeler to get only the yellow portion of the lemon peel. This resulted in tender strips of peel. I minced the finished candied lemon peel and added it to the Lemon Icing recipe from this site. Yummy!!
If you have ever eaten commercial candied fruit peel, you will notice that they do not remove the pith! Do like several others suggested and blanch the peel in fresh water at least twice, for 10 minutes each time. This removes the bitterness and tenderizes the peel. When it's done enough, a toothpick should easily pierce the peel. Then make the the syrup with fresh water and boil for 5 minutes. Add peels and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until translucent. Drain and let dry several hours before rolling in sugar to coat.
Perfect! I peeled the skin with a vegetable peeler. I used 4 small lemons (could have used 5 or 6 with just the peelings). No pith to peel. Not bitter at all. I boiled the lemons just once for 5 minutes. The key for me was the second boil in the sugar water. The directions state to boil until 'transparent'. This took about 20-30 minutes and the end result was evident as I tasted the lemon at the 10 minute boil mark and it definitely was not ready. The lemon peel was sticky so I dipped it in sugar and that made it easier to chop.
In a hurry making a gingerbread cake for the holidays and stumbled across this recipe... it was quick and easy and garnished the cake perfectly..... with a lil lemon curd sauce on the side. It was wonderful.
A very good recipe. I used orange peel and rolled in granulated sugar afterwards and dipped in milk chocolate.
So easy and so wonderful for decorating. I sprinkled them with sugar afterwards to give them a sugary look.
