Candied peel is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 8 recipes to get you started.

What is candied peel?

Candied peel is citrus rind, usually orange and lemon, simmered in sugar syrup until it turns translucent and sweet, then dried or packed in syrup. The bitterness of the fresh pith mellows into something chewy and fragrant, with a faint bitter edge.

It is a baking ingredient above all, the kind of thing you fold into a batter rather than eat by the handful. You will find it diced into "mixed peel," a blend of candied orange and lemon (sometimes citron) sold ready-chopped for fruitcakes.

Most often it is a holiday workhorse, the jeweled bits in British Christmas baking that carry citrus oil through a long, dark cake.

Cooking and Baking With It

Candied peel goes into rich fruited bakes where its citrus perfume cuts the sweetness and the heaviness. It anchors a Dark Christmas Cake and a Christmas Pudding With Vanilla-Bean Custard, where it sits alongside currants and raisins.

It also lifts everyday tea breads and buns. Chopped fine, it studs Rock Buns, Currant Bread (Welsh), and a spiced Spice Bread, adding pockets of bright, sticky citrus.

Two practical notes. If the pieces are large or hard, chop them small so they distribute evenly and do not sink.

And because the peel is coated in sugar, it counts toward the sweetness of a recipe, so taste before adding extra sugar.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Candied peel belongs with dried fruit (raisins, currants, sultanas), warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, almonds, brandy, and dark sugars. The citrus oil is what gives a fruitcake flavor beyond plain sweetness.

The biggest mistake is buying the cheap, rubbery supermarket tubs of mixed peel, which are often tough and one-note.

Many bakers who dislike fruitcake actually dislike bad peel. Good peel, soft and aromatic, changes the whole cake.

The second mistake is skipping it because the pieces look hard. Dried-out peel softens beautifully if you soak it briefly in warm water or the brandy you are already using to steep the fruit.

Substitutes

If you have none, the easiest fix is to make it. Simmer strips of orange or lemon peel in equal parts sugar and water for about 45 minutes until translucent, then toss in sugar and dry. It takes time but tastes far better than the tub.

For flavor without the chew, grated fresh citrus zest is a good stand-in: use the zest of one orange or lemon for roughly every ¼ cup of candied peel a recipe calls for, and add a little extra sugar.

In fruitcakes, chopped dried apricots or extra raisins can fill the volume if you are out, though you lose the citrus note. A few drops of orange oil or a splash of orange liqueur can put some of that back.

Buying and Storing It

You can buy it as whole candied halves or strips (better quality, you chop them yourself) or as pre-diced mixed peel (convenient, often lower quality). Whole pieces that look plump and glossy beat anything dry and pale. The premium versions are candied slowly and stay tender.

Store it airtight in a cool, dark cupboard, where the sugar acts as a preservative and keeps it good for many months, often up to a year. For long storage or in a warm kitchen, refrigerate it to stop it drying out or molding.

If the peel has gone rock-hard or crystallized solid, a short soak in warm water revives it.

Discard it only if you see mold or smell fermentation, which means moisture got trapped in the package.

Quick facts

In Chinese

蜜饯果皮

British (UK) term

Candied peel

en français

écorces confites

en español

cáscara confitada

Recipes using candied peel

There are 8 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 8 recipes