National Candied Orange Peel Day

Candied orange peels in their syrup By User:Manutius, july 17, 2005

May 4th is National Candied Orange Peel Day in the United States.

Candied orange peel is a specific type of candied fruit. Candied fruit, which is also called crystallised fruit or glacé fruit, is a way of preserving fruit. This can be done with the whole fruit, pieces of fruit, or, in this case, pieces of the peel. The peel is placed in heated sugar syrup, and then left. The fruit absorbs the sugar and the syrup absorbs the moisture which prevents the growth of the microorganisms that cause the fruit to go off. This process can take anything from a few days to several months, and the resulting candied peel can last a year or more.

Oranges are one of the most common fruits to have their peels candied. Normally, when eating oranges, the peel is discarded, but this is an alternative use for it (although, if the fruit is waxed, the wax needs removing first). The candied peel can either be eaten as is, or used in cooking, such as in cakes.