Candied Blood Orange Slices

Name: Candied Blood Orange Slices
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 d
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients: 2 small blood oranges; 2 cups granulated sugar; 2 cups filtered water; 1 tablespoon corn syrup*; 3 tablespoons filtered water; ¼ teaspoon powdered citric acid*

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Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 d
Course
Condiments
Cuisine
American

Candied Blood Orange Slices

Iris Warren

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Candied blood orange slices have a sweet and chewy texture and a gorgeous, stained glass-like appearance, making them the perfect decorations for cakes or cupcakes.

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Ingredients

2 small blood oranges or 1 large orange
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups filtered water
1 tablespoon corn syrup* optional (see notes)

For Leftover Syrup:

3 tablespoons filtered water
¼ teaspoon powdered citric acid*

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Instructions

Lightly spray a wire cooling rack with cooking spray. Set on top of a piece of parchment paper to catch any drips.
Wash and scrub oranges in hot water (you can even soak them in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub with a brush) to remove any wax coatings.
With your sharpest knife, cut off the bottom or blossom end of each orange. Use a dinner fork to mark out 1/4-inch increments, then slice into even, 1/4-inch slices. You can also use a mandoline if you have one and are comfortable using it. Poke out any seeds. Discard end pieces (or juice them for another use).
In a medium heavyweight saucepan, combine sugar, water, and corn syrup (if using, see notes). You want about an inch of syrup, deep enough for the orange slices to fully submerge and for your thermometer to be able to get an accurate reading. The depth will reduce by about half by the end. You can increase the syrup quantities to 3 cups each of sugar and water to accommodate a larger pan if necessary (cooking time will increase slightly if you do).
Gently stir sugar mixture over medium-high heat until sugar is completely dissolved, then stop stirring. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down the sides of the pan to remove any stray sugar crystals that may have splashed there.
If you're using a probe thermometer that comes with a pot attachment, affix it to the side of your saucepan so the tip is fully submerged into the syrup but not touching the bottom.
Once the sugar mixture comes to a full boil, reduce heat to medium low. Gently lay orange slices into the syrup (use caution as the syrup is very hot). Try to arrange the slices into a single layer, a little overlapping is fine but you don't want slices piling on top of each other.
Continue to cook without stirring, though you can use tongs or a fork to press the slices under the syrup and separate any that have gotten a bit too friendly with each other. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the syrup at a gentle simmer as opposed to a vigorous boil. You'll also want to gently flip the slices every 10 to 15 minutes or so to ensure even cooking.
Around 225°-230°F, the syrup will start to bubble and foam until you can't even see the oranges any more. The foam itself is fine, but you can skim off any orange scum that gathers around the edges of the pan with a spoon or spatula if you want.
When the syrup reaches 240°F to 245°F (soft to firm ball stage), the slices should be tender and almost fully transparent. This will take about 50 to 60 minutes, slightly longer if you used a larger quantity of syrup or had more orange slices crowding the pan.
Remove from heat, let it sit for a minute or so until the foam subsides and you can see the orange slices again.
Use a fork to carefully lift the fragile slices and transfer to a lightly greased cooling rack. You can also cool directly on parchment paper (NOT waxed paper) or a silicone baking mat if you prefer (but the excess syrup will pool up more instead of draining off).
Mix together 3 tablespoons water and 1/4 teaspoon citric acid until dissolved, then whisk into syrup while it is still hot. This will prevent crystallization as well as thin the syrup to a more manageable consistency instead of setting up into a thick, taffy-like mass. Transfer the hot syrup to heat-proof jars with lids; let cool to room temperature then refrigerate for up to 3 weeks or freeze for longer storage.
Let the orange slices air dry at cool room temperature overnight and up to 48 hours. If you want to dry them out more quickly, bake at 200°F for 45 to 60 minutes, then increase heat to 250°F and bake for 15 to 20 minutes more, keeping a close eye on them to be sure they don't start to brown or bubble. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Store orange slices between layers of parchment paper loosely covered at room temperature. If you put them in an airtight container, they will absorb moisture and get stickier. You can also toss the sticky slices with a few coats of granulated sugar to make them less sticky as well.
Candied orange slices will keep at room temperature for 2 weeks, refrigerated for up to a month, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Notes

*The citric acid is added at the end to brighten and preserve the leftover syrup and prevent it from crystalizing as it cools. If you don't have or don't want to use citric acid, definitely use the corn syrup, which also helps prevent crystallization. If you have citric acid, on the other hand, you can skip the corn syrup if you want (I tested it both ways and either works!)