Most fruits are peeled before consumption, which is most often carelessly thrown away. So why not please your household with delicious candied tangerine peels, prepared at home, the recipes for which are given below? They come out like chewy candies with a sunny citrus flavor.
Features of preparing candied mandarin oranges
Since much of the process of preparing candied fruit involves simmering tangerine peels in a gentle syrup, you need to be aware that boiling sugar can easily boil off and cause serious burns. Therefore, for this purpose, you should use a saucepan that can hold three times as much liquid as necessary to prevent the syrup from boiling.
To give the delicacy some piquancy, you can add your favorite spice to the sugar syrup. It could be cinnamon stick, vanilla, anise, cardamom or cloves. Also, before serving, finished products can be dipped in melted chocolate and frozen.
When drying candied tangerine peels, you should choose a room where there is good air circulation.
Before laying out the sweet slices, lightly grease the wire rack with vegetable oil, and place a tray with parchment or wax paper underneath to catch any drips. Properly prepared candied fruits should not stick together during storage and resemble jam.
Preparing the Main Component
To get a tasty and juicy delicacy, you need to choose organic and unwaxed fruits, excluding overripe, unripe, wrinkled or fruits with obvious signs of damage to the skin. The citrus fruits selected for cooking are washed well under running water, after which the crust is carefully removed from them along with the white layer, which is cut into strips, squares, diamonds or other shapes.
After washing and slicing, tangerine peels are kept in cool water for 2 to 3 days, with periodic changes of liquid, to swell and remove bitterness.
If you want to wait for it for a long time, the cut slices can be placed in a saucepan and covered with lightly salted water.
Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes. This helps remove any existing bitterness from the white part of the peel. After removing from the heat, the semi-finished products are thoroughly washed to remove traces of salt.
How to make candied tangerine peels at home?
Of course, the process of preparing candied products will take the hostess’s personal time, but in the end the result will be a 100% natural delicacy, without the use of dyes and other harmful substances.
Classic recipe
To prepare candied fruits you will need a kilogram of prepared tangerine peel. If the amount of semi-finished product is taken less, you need to reduce the amount of other components in equal proportions.
The prepared crusts are filled with water, brought to a boil, cooked for about 10 minutes and drained in a colander.
To prepare the syrup, take a kilogram of sugar and a little less than two glasses of water. The mixture should be cooked in a separate pan until the sugar dissolves.
Place boiled orange peels in boiling syrup, bring to a boil, remove from heat and leave covered for 5 hours. Then cook again for 5 minutes and leave overnight. This procedure should be repeated two to three times.
During the last cooking, you need to add a little citric acid to the syrup so that the fruit slices do not turn out to be too sweet.
You can make the taste more interesting by adding a few drops of liqueur, such as Amaretto. Hot candied tangerine peels are removed from the syrup using a slotted spoon and laid out on a wire rack to dry. If desired, the slightly dried product can be additionally rolled in sugar.
Quick recipe
To prepare the treat you will need:
- 8-10 tangerine peels;
- 1.5 glasses of water;
- 3 cups sugar.
Recipe:
- Pour water into a wide saucepan and add 2.5 cups of sugar. The sweet mixture is brought to a boil, then tangerine semi-finished products are added to the syrup.
- When the candied fruits boil, the gas is reduced to a slow burning, after which the delicacy is cooked for about half an hour until the peel becomes transparent.
- Using tongs, the boiled crusts are laid out in the remaining sugar, rolled and placed on a wire rack to dry. Drying usually takes from 2 to 4 hours, depending on the humidity of the room.
How and for how long can the finished product be stored?
Tangerine slices prepared according to the classic recipe will be stored in an airtight container, layered between sheets of wax paper, in the refrigerator or a cool, dry place for up to six months. The quick-prepared treat is placed in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Enjoy your tea!
