There’s a world of difference between homemade candied orange peels and those that are store bought. A chasm, really.
For years I’ve made Rosetta Costantino’s recipe for candied peels (I’ve made orange, lemon, grapefruit and citron). Rosetta is originally from Calabria, Italy and now lives in the Bay Area of California. She is a cooking instructor and the author two cookbooks, My Calabria and Southern Italian Desserts, both a treasure trove of southern Italian recipes, both savory and sweet.
Candied orange peels are used in many Italian and non-Italian desserts alike (see my Gibassier recipe for French sweet dessert bread as an example) or they may be enjoyed on their own. As a bonus, they last indefinitely in the freezer and at this point I only need to make a batch once every two years or so.
Here is the link to Rosetta’s recipe that she graciously shared: https://www.cookingwithrosetta.com/blogposts/how-to-make-candied-orange-peels
Arliano Update (Aggiornamento Arliano):
We are “thiiiiiiis” close to being able to move back into our house after a nearly year-long renovation, but the workers are showing up sporadically and mis-prioritizing the work tasks. Did it really need a whole year to renovate our house? Absolutely not. If you look back through gregnelsoncooks updates from the past year, you’ll discover why it took so long. The workers do a great job but then they complicate their own lives but undoing their work. For example, they don’t lay down drop cloths, tape or hang protective plastic, so paint and stucco get splattered all over the floors, ceiling, walls, and windows. Oops! Add that to the list of their “touch ups” before we can move upstairs. The list goes on. The ironic part is that they are not paid by the hour, rather by the project, so there is no incentive for stalling work. On a much cheerier note, our new kitchen is completely done and looks great! We haven’t used it yet because we don’t live upstairs yet…
Greg Nelson Cooks 