Sunday fun!
Just gorgeous! Nothing prettier than a shimmering slice of blood orange on a Sunday afternoon. Decorative, chewy and bursting with sweet orange flavor. And, the entire thing is edible! The slow process of simmering in sugar and water leaves the rind palatable and actually good for you. As a byproduct you’ll get a fantastic candied orange syrup that is a great addition to ice cream, mocktails, cocktails, and just about anything you want to drizzle it on. The recipe does take a bit of time, so sit back and enjoy your Sunday afternoon knowing that dessert is going to be absolutely wonderful.
Candied Blood Oranges
Great for garnish on desserts, cocktails/mocktails, or dipped in chocolate
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
Citrus, like blood oranges, oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lemons, limes, washed and scrubbed
Method:
Prep citrus
Slice the citrus into rounds that are just under 1⁄4-inch thick. Save the “butt” ends of the citrus to squeeze out the little bit of juice they have into the simple syrup for extra flavor.
Bring a large, heavy-bottomed pot half full of water to a gentle boil. Add the citrus slices and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, drain the water from the pot, add fresh water to the citrus in the pot, and bring to a gentle boil again. Boil for 5 minutes. Repeat one more time. This blanching process removes some of the bitterness from the peel and pith, but you can skip this step entirely and jump ahead if you don’t mind the bitterness.
Remove the blanched citrus slices from the pot and discard the water.
Make simple syrup for candied citrus
Make simple syrup: To the same large, heavy bottomed pot, combine 2 cups sugar with 2 cups water. Squeeze in any juice from the butt ends of the citrus. Bring to a low boil, stir until sugar dissolves, then reduce heat to low.
Add back the blanched citrus slices, making sure that all the citrus is covered by the simmering syrup. Simmer for 40 minutes, turning the slices over at least once.
Pro-tip: Save the now-citrus-flavored syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can use it for cocktails, tea, anywhere you’d use a syrup or sweetener.
Dry citrus
Dry the citrus slices: Heat oven to 170 degrees F, or the lowest your oven will go. If you have wire racks for baking sheets, remove the citrus rounds from the syrup and place on the racks in a single layer. If you don’t have racks, line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the citrus rounds on the baking sheets in a single layer. The citrus can touch, but do not let them overlap.
Place as many baking sheets as will fit on your racks in the oven. Dry the citrus rounds in the oven until they are dry (they will still be a little sticky from the sugar) and firm enough to hold their shape when you pick them up with tongs, about 3 hours, flipping every hour.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and remove the candied dried citrus to a wire rack to cool and dry further. Once cool, store in an airtight container.
Recipe, photos and styling by Katherine Knowlton, private chef, caterer and founder of Happy Chance Edibles.
