Add a little zest to it…

If you know me in real life, or follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a
love of cocktails, and homemade ingredients for cocktails, brewing for some
time now.

One of my favorite things to do is find ingredients that are versatile and work
well with other staple ingredients. Over the holidays, I dried out some orange
slices for the first time and used them for decor, drink garnishes, and photo
props.

Tonight, I decided to make another batch of the oranges, candied orange peel, and orange
infused simple syrup.

The orange slices couldn’t be easier—thinly slice a washed and dried orange.
Arrange the slices in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake
in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-6 hours. Once they are dried out,
store in an airtight container.

For the candied orange peel—you’ll want to thinly slice the skin of an orange.
In a small saucepan, bring water to a boil and add in the orange peel pieces.
Let them boil 2-3 minutes. Strain the orange peels and refill the sauce pan
with water. Boil a second time for an additional 2-3 minutes. This helps cut
the bitterness of the orange peel.

To candy the orange peel, we’ll need to make a simple syrup. I was only testing a
small batch so I added a 1/2-cup sugar and a 1/2-cup water to a saucepan and
brought it to a boil. Once all the sugar is dissolved, turn off the heat. The
syrup should stay thin, but hold a drip off a spoon. Add in the orange peel
pieces and bring the syrup to a boil again (about 2-3 minutes). Then remove the
orange pieces and lay them flat on a piece of wax paper. Separate them out so
they have plenty of room to dry individually.

Optional, but I recommend dusting them with additional sugar for a final touch. Once the
orange peel has cooled down, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!

Now don’t throw out that simple syrup! It has subtle orange flavor and can be
used in cocktails or desserts.

It’s amazing what you can do with oranges, sugar, and water!
Now I have 3 homemade specialty ingredients to use in future cocktails and
mixed drinks.

**A special shoutout to my sister who provided IT support for almost 2 hours to
help me get this post back up and running.