chocolate covered orange rinds Archives

Chocolate-Covered Orange Rinds

Cuisine Appetizer

Ingredients

2 large oranges
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 oz. dark chocolate 70% cocoa content

Instructions

Wash the oranges thoroughly under running hot water.
Cut the top and bottom off. Make 4 or 5 vertical incisions running all the way from top to bottom of the peel and into the flesh.
With your hands, remove the peel carefully. Cut each piece into thin strips and transfer them into a pot. Pour over about 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain. Pour fresh water (2 cups) in the same pot and add the peels in. Repeat the same process. This will remove some of the peel’s bitterness.
In small sauce pan, dissolve 1 cup sugar in 1 cup water, add the peels and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the peels are translucent.
When done, spread them out on a wire rack so the syrup can drip off and the peels can cool completely.
Melt the chocolate over a pot of simmering water. Dip the peel in chocolate and using a fork, transfer it onto a baking parchment or aluminum foil. Let them set completely in the fridge (for about an hour) before serving/enjoying them.
Kitchen Notese
Count one orange per person if you want to give this as a gift.
These keep in the fridge for at least a week.
You will get about 30 strips out of 1 large orange.
Optional: Sprinkle the chocolate covered peels with salt.

JC, my son-in-law, proudly displays one of my favorite bits of decadence–Chocolate Covered Orange Rinds that he made.

If you have an orange and some good chocolate, (chips will do), you have the makings of a treat that would rival the convections of a French chocolatier.

Family and friends who know my fondness for these orange delicacies often bring them to me as a treat. (My favorites come from The Fountain, which is too far downtown for me to get there very often. Which maybe just as well.)

A Candy Maker in the Family

Orange rinds drying after a syrupy bath.

Imagine my surprise when Robin told me that JC had made a huge batch of chocolate-covered rinds. Amazing! Not only does he fix my malfunctioning kitchen appliances, troubleshoot any computer or television issues, and diagnose various sounds in my car, now he makes this astounding candy treat. What a treasure!

For best results, use a superb dark chocolate, such as Valrhona bittersweet.

Tips

The recipe for Chocolate-Covered Orange Rinds is easy. The hardest part is waiting for the rinds to dry out before they can be dipped and devoured.

Robin joins in the second batch of candy making.

You can get 20-30 strips out of each orange, so several pieces of fruit can make enough for you and a few gifts. Use organic oranges, if possible, to avoid sprayed on chemicals. If using regular oranges, scrub thoroughly.