After reading many resources on the Internet, the following steps form my version of making candied peels.
- Gently wash organic oranges and cut into pieces.
- Blanch to reduce bitterness. {Place in pan with enough water to cover and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes. Drain the hot water and place orange pieces into ice water for 5-10 minutes.}
- Prepare sugar syrup. {Put orange pieces into a pan, and weigh how much water it takes to just cover the oranges. Transfer the water into a different pan, and add the same weight in sugar. (Note. You can add as much as 2x sugar in weight). Heat this sugar and water mixture until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the orange pieces to the sugar syrup and bring to a boil.
- Simmer without a lid for 30 minutes. (This can be extended to 60 minutes.)
- Drain the syrup and save it to use for something else.
- Spread out the oranges pieces to dry on parchment or wax paper.
My understanding is that these can be tossed in sugar for short-term storage, or frozen for long-term storage.