Description
Turn orange citrus peels into delicious sweet-tart candy using the Instant Pot. Easy recipe takes less than half the time of stove top Candied Orange Peel recipes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 4 whole oranges (organic)
- 2 cups white sugar
- 5 cups water (divided)
Instructions
- Peel the oranges – Use a vegetable peeler to peel the orange from end to end.
- Remove the pith – Use a spoon, paring knife or other metal tool to scrape off as much pith as possible. (The pith is the inner white part of the orange peel, it is bitter so most of it should be removed.)
- Slice the peels – Slice the peels into long strips about ¼ inch wide.
- Boil the peels – Add 4 cups of water and the prepared peels to the pressure cooker. Cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes then use quick release.
- Drain peels – Drain the boiled peels in a small colander and rinse with cool fresh water. Discard the boiling water and rinse out the Instant Pot inner pan.
- Make sugar syrup – Add 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of fresh water to the clean pressure cooker pan. Stir in peels. Set to “sauté” and stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved. The syrup should be nearly clear and easy to see through.
- Cook the peels – Place lid on pressure cooker. Cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes. Wait 20 minutes then quick release.
- Drain the peels – Strain peels though small colander, saving the orange syrup for cocktails or recipes. Separate the peels into a single flat layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Quick dry the peels – Bake peels in a 200 degrees Fahrenheit oven until they are no longer wet and sticky but are still pliable. The peel should not be brittle. This takes approximately 30-40 minutes (check after the first 20 minutes then every 10 minutes to prevent burning or over drying.)
- Store the peels – Cool peels completely on the parchment paper. Store in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 6 weeks.
Notes
- This recipe was made in a 6qt/6l Instant Pot.
- Since you’ll be eating the orange peel, I recommend using organic oranges.
- The cooking time in this recipe is active cooking time. This does not include the time needed to bring the pot to pressure or the time needed for the pressure to drop (this adds approximately 20 minutes to the overall time).
- Use a clean instant pot seal or a seal specifically for sweet recipes to prevent flavor transfer.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ounce
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 21
