Storing Candied Citrus Peel

[spinach]

How long can i keep candied orange or other citrus peel? several of the recipes i've read say 2 days, and that's just too short a time.....any suggestions? how do the commercial places make it last...ie june taylors in sfo.

[violabratsche]

I've never had candied peel go bad, even after more than 6 months. Nor my mother, and she was making it long before I was born, with what was then, very precious citrus peels. A few years ago, for some reason, the orange peel didn't dry as well as it usually does. What to do? I put the peel in a plastic container layered with sugar so that the pieces wouldn't stick together. The result was slightly drier pieces (hey, they were for me, not for company or gifts) and the sugar was flavoured with the citrus, that I used in baking items that I wanted to have an orange taste. Was it EVER GOOD!!!

AnnieG

[JoanN]

I always refrigerate in an air-tight container and it takes several weeks for the peel to begin to stale.

[Aunt Jenny]

I think your recipe directions were unclear or specific to a particular dish. Candied peel is best used at least two days after you make it-- it won't have dried sufficiently if you use it right away. After it's dried (i.e., no longer gooey to the touch, assuming you've rolled it in sugar), keep it in an airtight container and it will last at least six months... longer if you store it in the fridge.

[spinach]

i only ask becasue i read the 2 day limit in several online recipes. i admit i saw others that simply say store in an airtight conatiner/refridgerate. i wanted a bit more certainty. i'd hate to go through the effort to make some for christmas only to find they've spoiled.