Candied Blood Orange Zest Food

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST FOR CRANBERRY TRIFLE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add zest of 1 orange (peeled into long strips with a vegetable peeler); simmer, swirling occasionally, until zest is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a plate. Dredge zest in sugar, and thinly slice.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove orange zest in strips (leaving white pith behind); slice lengthwise into matchsticks. In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil. Add zest; reduce heat to medium. Cook until zest is soft, about 15 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer zest to a baking sheet lined with waxed paper; let cool. Toss with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Zest can be stored up to 1 day in an airtight container at room temperature.

CANDIED CITRUS ZEST

Steps:

• Cut the citrus into wedges and remove the flesh. Use a sharp paring knife to remove as much white pith as possible from the peels. Reserve and use the insides of the fruits for juice or another use.
• Place all the peels in a 2-quart saucepan. Cover the peels with water and bring them to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and drain. Set the peels aside.
• Add the sugar, honey, and 1 1/2 cups (354ml) water to the empty pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook to dissolve all the sugar, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Add the reserved peels to the sugar syrup and reduce the heat to low; gently simmer until the syrup registers 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer or until the peels are bright and translucent looking. Stir the peels frequently. This should take about 1 hour. You do not want to caramelize the sugar at all, so keep the flame low and cook slowly. If the syrup begins to thicken before the peels have cooked through, you may need to add a touch more water to the pan during the cook time to slow down the candying process a bit.
• Cool the peels in the syrup until they reach room temperature. From here you can go in two different directions: you can store the candied peels in an airtight container in the syrup to keep it soft and hydrated. Alternately, you can dredge the peels in granulated sugar and set them on a wire rack overnight to create a dried candied zest confection. The sugared zest can then be stored at room temperature for months and months.

CANDIED ORANGE

Steps:

• Cut tops and bottoms off of the orange and score the orange into quarters, cutting down only into the peel and not into the fruit. Peel the skin and pith of the orange in large pieces, use the orange for another recipe. Cut the peel into strips about 1/4-inch wide. Put the orange peel in a large saucepan with cold water to cover, bring to a boil over high heat. Then pour off the water. Repeat 1 or 2 more times depending up how assertive you want the orange peels to be. (Test kitchen liked the texture of a 3 time blanch best, it also mellowed the bitterness. But it is a matter of preference.) Remove the orange peels from the pan.
• Whisk the sugar with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 to 9 minutes (If you took the sugar's temperature with a candy thermometer it would be at the soft thread stage, 230 to 234 degrees F.) Add the peels and simmer gently, reducing heat to retain a simmer. Cook until the peels get translucent, about 45 minutes. Resist the urge to stir the peels or you may introduce sugar crystals into the syrup. If necessary, swirl the pan to move the peels around. Drain the peels, (save the syrup for ice tea.) Roll the peels in sugar and dry on a rack, for 4 to 5 hours. Return to the sugar to store.
• Cook's Note: One way to use orange peels is to stuff a dried date with a piece of orange peel and almond, then dip the entire thing into dark chocolate.

CANDIED BLOOD ORANGE ZEST

Steps:

• Remove zest from oranges with a vegetable peeler, keeping pieces long Remove white pith using a paring knife. Cut into fine julienne using a very sharp knife. Place julienned zest in a small bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes, and drain.
• Bring sugar and the cool water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When sugar is completely dissolved, add julienned zest, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet to drain for 10 minutes. Toss zest in sugar to coat. Use immediately.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST

Steps:

• Heat the 1 cup of sugar and water to a boil. Add peels and simmer until they are transparent, about 12 minutes. Syrup should be thick. Remove from syrup and toss in sugar, let dry, away from humidity. Store in an airtight tin.
• TIP:
• RED ORANGES
• Use blood oranges in your favorite recipes as you would regular oranges. Taste for sweetness, you may have to add a bit more sugar in some recipes

ORANGES WITH AMBER CARAMEL AND CANDIED ZEST

Steps:

• Slice the ends off the oranges, and discard. Working from the top to the bottom, slice the peel off in strips, to reveal the orange flesh. Cut the white pith from the back of the peel with a sharp knife, and discard. Slice the orange peel into fine julienne strips, put it in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Drain, and rinse under cold running water. Repeat this process three times. Blanching the orange peel like this removes much of the bitter taste.
• Cut out the sections from the oranges into a bowl, squeezing any juice out of the membrane before discarding. Set aside.
• Pour the sugar into a saute pan or large heavy saucepan. Melt the sugar and let it develop a deep amber color, without letting it burn. Pour over 1 cup water/250 ml water and any juice that has pooled around the orange slices. The caramel will seize up, so leave the pan on the heat until the water and juice dissolve into the caramel. Add the drained julienne of zests and boil until they turn translucent, become candy coated and a dark amber color, 5 to 10 minutes. The zests will be sweet and chewy with a faint hint of bitterness and intense orange flavor.
• Add about 4 spoonfuls of this caramel with candied orange zest to the fresh orange slices, and toss. Cover, and set aside in a cool place until serving.
• (Cool the remaining caramel and orange zest. If too thick, simply thin out with a bit of water to achieve a thick syrup. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator; it will keep for at least 6 months.)
• Serve the oranges with their caramel and candied peel sprinkled with lightly toasted almond slivers and slightly sweetened whipped cream.

CANDIED BLOOD ORANGE SLICES

Steps:

• Bring water and sugar to boil in a heavy large skillet, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Thinly slice blood orange (you can substitute a regular orange); add to skillet, arranging in a single layer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and barely simmer until the white pith of the orange becomes translucent, turning the slices occasionally, about 40 minutes. Allow the orange slices to cool in the syrup, turning occasionally. Arrange the slices atop the tart and drizzle with some of the syrup just before serving.

CANDIED ORANGE ZEST (CAN BE USED FOR GARNISH/DECORATION FOR LADY

Steps:

• Cut the oranges into eight sections and remove the pulp from the peel.
• Using a sharp paring knife, cut away as much of the white pith as possible from the peel.
• Cut the remaining orange peel in half (or into strips).
• Place the orange zests and half of 1 of the lemons in a large saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to a boil for 15 seconds. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Discard the lemon half.
• Repeat step 4 two more times, each time covering the zests with fresh water and adding another lemon half.
• Combine the 3 cups water and the sguar in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.
• Add the zests and the remaining lemon half. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the Grand Marnier. Leave the zests in the liquid, loosely covered, for at least 12 hours.
• Remove the zests from the liquid and set them on paper towels to drain. Roll them in the sugar, pressing sugar into the zests.
• Allow zests to dry slightly before serving.
• Store in an airtight container.