A few weeks ago I bought some pony pixie tangerines online from a family owned grove in California. I ate most of them, they were delicious, but I got sick of them (it was a pretty packed box). So they languished in the bottom drawer of my fridge until I remembered that you can make candied orange slices.
Or tangerines in this case. They’re tiny.
So I grabbed my trusty mandoline and went to work. I sliced them about 3/16ths. (5 mm… that’s easier. 5 mm). I blanched them in boiling water but I think I packed the pot too much because some of the slices were still bitter. OH WELL LIVE AND LEARN.
I made a simple syrup, heated it, and added the first batch of slices. My brand new candy thermometer came in handy. The recipe said to heat the sugar up to 250 degrees F so that’s what I did.
My sugar went WILD. Also I got moisture inside the tube of the thermometer so that was a joy to work with.
I had to make up some more simple syrup as I was almost to the bottom of the pot after the first batch. I think the second batch turned out a bit better.
Batch 1. One of the slices is all messed up because I was trying to not slice my finger off on the mandoline. I also decided to candy some of the end pieces of the orange, but the first batch was a bit too bitter to eat all of that pith, so I may toss them.
All the slices! And yes that is my finger in the top corner. I was a bit out of sorts because of what happened during the first batch.
Yeah…. I’ve had a gas stove in my house for over ten years and this is the very first time something caught fire. I had the towel too close to the pot as I was using it to check the thermometer (I almost burned myself on the metal clip) and welp. Flames. It actually took me a hot minute (lol) to notice it caught fire, and when it did, my first thought was to dunk it in the ice water holding the blanched slices.
Then I grabbed it and stuck it in the sink and turned it on. Crisis averted. Upon second thought, maybe I should have dumped the measuring cup of water that was sitting right there… Nah, that’d make too much sense.
The slices are still drying out some, and it may take until tomorrow. I’ll buy some chocolate and dip the more bitter ones and have a party. If I make it again I MAY slice them slightly thinner. Or maybe I’ll try LIMES. I love limes so much. One of the bread recipes in my book is for lime bread and I’m so excited.
I have the next couple of days off work so I plan to bake bread on one of those days. And sew a pair of shorts. I leave for Utah in a week and I have so much to do!
Hopefully the next post will be a bread baking adventure!
The Solo Geographer 