Orangeatcandied orange peel

Orange peel cooked in sugar syrup and dried. The essential oil sits in the peel and stays there through the candying.

It stands next to Zitronat in Stollen, in fruit bread and in many Lebkuchen recipes. Sweeter, rounder, far less bitter.

In Mexikoin Mexico

Naranja cristalizada at the mercado and in baking supply shops. That is the most direct route on offer here.

Look at what is in the bag: it should be peel, orange and glassy, not dyed cubes of some other fruit.

Selbst kandierencandying it at home

Take thick skinned oranges, or naranja agria if you have it. Scrub the peel, cut it into strips and boil it twice in fresh water.

Then for three days running, a short boil in syrup and a rest, making the syrup sweeter each time. Drain at the end and let it dry.

Because orange is milder than lemon it needs fewer changes of water. Soak it too long and the aroma goes.

Vorsichtcareful

Same as with Zitronat: no acitrón. It comes from a protected cactus and tastes of nothing but sugar anyway.

If the cubes have gone rock hard, let them sit in warm rum or orange juice before they go into the dough.