Before me sits the most fantastic jar of candy, a nuclear bomb of goodness. Not only is it the best orange candy in the world, but its amazingly homemade.
Homemade candy this good has a catch though- it takes 2 – 3 weeks to make. So steel yourself and find that zen place of candy patience in your heart. It will be worth it, I promise.
What makes these candied orange slices better than the easier candied orange peel? These candied orange slices retain their pulpy fruit and are steeped in a sugar solution without heat. This minimal use of heat offers up an orange candy that has a more juicy, lighter fruity flavor than candied orange peels have.
Candy Orange Slices
modified version of procedure for candying fruit by Jean-Pierre Wybauw in Fine Chocolates, p70. Wybauw’s method utilizes a sugar refractometer- the following method doesn’t.
Fruit Prep:
- Clean three oranges by scrubbing under warm water.
- Slice into thin rounds. This candying method worked on all thickness of slices I tried up to 1/4 inch thick.
- The slices can be kept as circles, or cut into halves or quarters (hemi-circles and quarter-circles).
Blanching:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
- Have a bowl of ice water near by.
- Add the sliced oranges to the boiling water (may need to be done in batches depending on the size of your pot). Scoop from the boiling water when the slices float to the top and place into ice water to cool.
- When cool, drain and remove the slices from the ice water and transfer to a container large enough to hold all of the slices.
Candying:
- Bring to a boil: 1 kg of sugar and 600 g of water. This step is to just dissolve the sugar (not to cook the syrup).
- Pour the hot syrup over the orange slices. If the orange slices float, weigh them down to keep them fully submerged. Weighing down method I used the first week: placed a plate on top of the orange slices and a glass jar of water on top of the plate.
- Store the submerged orange slices in a dark cool place, like a cupboard or closet for the duration of the candying. I didn’t refrigerate them.
- Each day increase the sugar content of the orange slice sugar solution. Do this by draining off the sugar solution the slices are submerged in, add 100g of sugar, heat the solution to just dissolve the sugar, and pour back over the orange slices.
- Complete this increase-sugar step daily for two weeks.
- Notes
- I didn’t follow the schedule as written: I skipped a couple days of the increase-sugar schedule, and just resumed the increase-sugar step when I was able to. My impression is that this recipe is not very picky about increasing the sugar each day. I think the variable of time is important though- don’t try to shorten the duration of this recipe.
- Storage: the orange slices may be stored in the sugar solution indefinitely. No need to refrigerate, they can be stored in a cool dark place, like a cupboard.
Drying and dipping
The orange slices are removed from the sugar solution. Finishing can take multiple different routes:
arrange on a drying rack out at room temperature till less tacky, 1-2 days then
- roll in sugar (plain, vanilla, or with a touch of citric acid),
- or dip in chocolate (white, dark or milk- tempered holds up best).
- or you can do both- like in the picture: dip 3/4 of the orange slice in chocolate and sugar the exposed portion.
Storage of finished candies
In an air tight container is best to keep out humidity. I gifted these in glass canning jars or crunchy cellophane bags. The survivors of my nibbling suggest that these candies hold up well: at least a month, probably more.
Variations
The subject of your candying is the first variation that leaps to my mind. Keeping your choices in the citrus family is easy:
- lime
- lemon
- grapefruit
- buddah’s hand
Finding other fruits and vegetables for this process would be a great experiment too. I don’t know what the parameters for likely subjects are. But here’s some ideas:
- persimmon
- ginger
- pineapple
- apricot
- peach
- tomato
- cucumber
- cherries
- garlic clove
- jalapeno
- onion ring
- carrot
- chestnut
I’d love to hear what you try.
A long process- yes. But the bounty if offers will reward you and your friends over and over.
Cheers
47 Comments
Wow, Jocelyn, these are gorgeous! I can’t wait to try them.
I have Wybauw’s book and have read through this recipe. Never dared to start though 
Good to know it really makes a difference. Your orange quarters look delicious!
Hey there Jocelyn ~ I will be giving this recipe a try. I can only imagine the delightful aromas that will escape from the kitchen. Thanks for stopping by my page to say howdy…I love your site…that is why you are on my sidebar…cha, cha, cha!
Happy Tuesday.
Ramona
Oh, such good childhood memories with this post! My mom used to make candied orange rind sometimes for fruitcake. This is absolutely my weekend project.
OK, now you know I have to try this. For lemons (since that’s what I still have a ton of) would you recommend the chocolate or just a sugar coating?
thanks for the inspiration!
dot
DOh- why didn’t I answer this here?
I think lemons would be great either:
-with a dark chocolate coating
- a white chocolate coating
- or a dusting of ascorbic acid (canning supplies) and sugar for a pucker effectyum!
–McAuliflower
oh, quick question – how many oranges did you do with this amount of sugar/water? I would assume you could do a smaller amount with less as long as you kept the proportions the same?
I think the basics of what matter are:
- blanch the sliced fruits in boiling water
- keep covered in sugared water
- increase that sugar percentage almost daily–McAuliflower
Love making candied orange rind dipped in chocolate. I always try to buy organic but for some reason, the skins always seem to be thinner and don’t work as nicely.
I bought Organic too. I think the skin thickness would depend on the variety / breeding of the fruit.
–McAuliflower
Those candies look sooooo scrumptious!
I love your blog. You always have such interesting cooking projects!
Hi Dot- I did three large oranges. And yes- you could do a smaller amount with the same ratios. This was a good sized batch for Christmas time gift giving. Smaller would be better off season.
Ya know- a white chocolate on lemons could be very very nice. I can also imagine a dark bittersweet chocolate too. I think you have lots of options at your fingertips!
Just a note Laura- to candy just the orange rind is quicker and a separate post. This one here is for candying the whole fruit (in slice form), pulp and all. Here’s the candied orange peel procedure I use.
I’ve had that longing for this recipe for such a long time. Something this season just snapped! 
You’ll note I didn’t do his final step (the rub the side of the pot to initiate crystallization). If you do and feel it makes a difference- let me know. I was just happy to get over my geek point of thinking I needed a refractometer (though I still kind of want one- eBay could be a bad enabler here!).
This past summer, despite some warnings in other books against doing so, I candied some strawberries using JPW’s method. Considering the fragile nature of ripe Hoods, I opted to leave them whole and used the smallest berries I had on hand. I still have a few left, 7 months later, and they seem to be holding up OK (JPW says they should keep up to a year).
I was going to try some candying other fruits but I got sidetracked with other projects and the other fruits never got candied. Maybe next summer. Your post got me thinking about candied fruit again, and I have a couple of lemons in the kitchen that are potential victims.
I was trying to work out how I could use up more oranges. I started a batch of these yesterday:
I just wanted to say that “a rumpus in a fruit bowl” is good! (LOVED that comment!) LOL.. Just got here so back to brousing this neat blog! Have a great week.
This is very cool! Thanks. You’ll have to tell Orangette, who named her food blog after candied orange peels
I would love to try this recipe, but I can’t figure out what you mean by – 1 kg of sugar and 600 g of water, and-
100g of sugar. How much is that in standard American measurements? Thanks Jen
Jen- those are weights. You are going to have to weigh the ingredients to get an accurate measurement.
If you want volumetric measurements- just google your conversion question. (Ex: google How many cups in 1 kg – sugar?).Hope that helps
–McAuliflower
1 g = 1 ml of water: 600 ml = 2.5 cups
WikiAnswers says that 100 g sugar is 0.44 cup (I’d imagine using 1/2 cup is safe?). So 1 kg sugar is between 4 1/3 c and 4 1/2 cups.
This page should be helpful too: http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml
PS: I’m looking forward to trying this with blood oranges! If it works well, I may try grapefruit too.
I miss your writings… Wassup?
thanks for the nudge Joe
Travel being sick, missing my taste buds, being sick…will get a post up pronto.
–McAuliflower
[...] happened to leave/submit/forget a handful or orange slices from my Christmas candied orange slices in their final sugar solution for and additional 3 [...]
I might try this recipe for Christmas this year. It’s a long process, but I’m sure one that’s nicely rewarded in the end.
Sylvia, I looked at your flickr photos of your orange slices and am wondering what brand is your 8-cup measuring cup that you used?
I made these and they were wonderful!
We have a navel orange tree that provides copious but less than sweet fruit, so I picked a few for this recipe. I have to admit that I wasn’t too sure about the safety of unrefrigerated sugar syrup, so I actually brought the syrup just to a boil each time I added more sugar.
After drying for a couple of days, I tossed the slices in sugar as directed and dipped them halfway in 72% chocolate. They’re so sweet on their own that I really think the chocolate provides the perfect balance.
Every single person who tried them LOVED them. My coworker actually did a happy dance in the office (and he’s a foodie who’s hard to impress!) when he ate his first one. It’s a joy to behold a 6′4″ burly guy doing a happy dance over food.
Sadly, they are all gone. Happily, there are many more oranges on the tree….
Oh, and it seems to me that the leftover sugar syrup really should be used in some sort of cocktail, infused as it is with delicious orangey-ness. Maybe with tart pomegranate juice and vodka?
This looks amazing!! I have bookmarked it and am going to make it soon
My mouth is watering!!!
A couple questions:
1. Why do they need to be blanched? Why can’t you just skip this step?
2. Why don’t you just start out with a thick syrup solution to begin with and let the oranges sit? Is this because liquid from the oranges is released into the solution, making it necessary to add more sugar in order to get the sugar content back up?
[...] Points does it again.. More Citrus inspiration: I’m going to have to try this recipe for the best candied orange slices in the world. (But probably with Lemon – Like my Candied Lemon Peel from last [...]
I tried this with pineapple and it turned out wonderfully. I am using it to decorate the pina colada cupcakes I am experimenting with. Beautiful. Well worth the effort.
A dear friend of mine has recently done candied blood oranges – I completely overdid the coffee/dessert session with these delicious treats. I am very keen to do lemons and my questions is: My lemons are the thick skinned, therefore very thick pith. Does this make a difference? It is quite soft so I assume will shrink in the process?? Thank you all for such GREAT ideas!
[...] Candied jalapeños, make use of these directions for making candied fruit. Instead of using oranges, submerge jalapeño slices in the sugar solution instead. [...]
[...] Candied jalapeños, make use of these directions for making candied fruit. Instead of using oranges, submerge jalapeño slices in the sugar solution instead. [...]
[...] Photo-recipe was inspired by Brownie Points (such a lovely blog!) recipe for “The Best Candied Orange Slices in the World” My parents had an abundance of lemons, and I needed to find things to do with the ones they [...]
What is the salt concentration for blanching?
I’m also wondering how much salt you put in to have it be properly “salted” water?
Don’t stress it- just add a pinch. Yep- I just gave you an obtuse undefined amount
Or you can follow the pasta rule: make it as salty as the ocean.–McAuliflower
[...] got a few sewing projects prepped and ready to begin. I’ll also probably make some of these orange candies (or these ones), and definitely we’ve got fleur de sel caramels on our list this year (There [...]
I started a batch yesterday….What do you think about the upper limit of how many oranges could be made in this amount of solution? I have doubled the oranges, and the solution, but it looks like a lot of extra syrup–probably 6inches above the tops of my oranges in this particular container. I’m wondering if I could have just used the same sugar water as if I’d made a single batch?
Thoughts?
Hi Kathryn,
I just started a batch that fits 4 large navel oranges into this size of sugar solution. It’s a tight fit. You should be fine adding more orange if you feel you have a lot of empty solution space.
Have fun!
–McAuliflower
I’m delighted to stumble over your recipe! Thank you! I make sugared cranberries (from the Whole Foods recipe) and they are a huge hit. The cranberries are done overnight. I’m excited to learn a new holiday trick. I can hardly wait for the final product.
I put mine in a brown paper bag and pushed them back in a corner of the countertop. I can’t spare a cupboard. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
[...] Chocolate covered candied orange slices. [...]
Hi-
I just made chocolate dipped candied orange peels for Christmas and thought next year I’ld like to do the same with fruit candied with the pulp intact. That brought me to your recipe and tutorial. They look fabulous and the variations sound too good to overlook too.
Tell me, if you would, would you also blanch things like pineapple slices and whole apricots? Do you know what would happen to the flavors if you had mixed fruits in the same macerating syrup?
Thanks so much. I’m really looking forward to starting these right after our Thanksgiving for next Christmas.
Merry, merry to one and all!
hi all, just a little info for people who are thinking of trying to do candied lime slices.. my experience with candied limes suggests that it does not work, when i made the attempt they came out with a very bitter flavour and a very “off” undertone.. i don’t know how to describe it.. it just tasted wrong. I was using key limes and the same sugar solution as for orange slices. I was unable to eat the results. i don’t know if others have tried this, but i would suggest caution.
interesting results Deanna. I wonder if they need more bouts of blanching?
Also- did you use organic limes?–McAuliflower
Just finished this recipe with Oranges and Meyer Lemons. I also did limes but, as deanna above said, did not taste right. I threw them away.
I still have the separate syrups for the orange and lemon. Any ideas on what I can do with the syrup?
[...] Chocolate covered candied orange slices. [...]
WOW I loved them. Mine took a full week to dry since it’s humid where I live.
I’m starting another batch. These are absolutely wonderful. Mom’s gone, but I remember how much she loved to find confectioners who offered these. Over the years we could only find jellies that looked like this. They are just not as good. Finding this recipe was a great Christmas present. Thank you for sharing.
And, thanks to the others for warning me about the limes. They were a condidate I was considering.
Just finished the recipe. I left the oranges in the jar full of sugar solution for an extra week while I was gone on vacation. When I returned I found small clear to white structures floating on the top of the syrup. I can’t tell if they are sugar crystals or mold. Has anyone else experienced this?
Here’s a challenge – I’ve been looking for a recipe for a truly decadent treat I got at Fortnum & Mason – Candied Oranges. Tiny, whole oranges candied and dipped in dark chocolate! Heaven! We sat at the theatre with juice running down our arms, but it was worth every lick!
I am dying to make these, they look amazing
I am lacking in cool dark places in my house that aren’t over run by children, would the darkest section of my bedroom work, since I rarely turn on the light over there? It’s not quite in my closet, but near it… I’d have to bring the bowl down to the kitchen every day though…
Also, can I do different thicknesses in the same batch? Or do they need to be uniformly sliced?
I am excited, and hoping to start these today or tomorrow
Sandwich the slices between two rounds of thinly rolled marzipan, cut into four wedges, enrobe each wedge in dark chocolate.
