By Sara McCleary Updated - This post may contain affiliate links
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Want to make your own Heston Blumenthal hidden orange pudding? If you do, there is one thing you will need to make first, and that's the orange you hide inside. It may be a little time consuming, but it is really easy to do. You can find the pudding recipe here.
It’s not that hard, if you can simmer water, you can candy an orange. Belly Rumble’s HQ has been busy testing the waters to create the perfect candied orange for your pudding. It’s easy, but as I just said you will need some time up your sleeve. It will take you eight days to candy an orange using my method.
Please don’t completely freak out about the length of time, as your hands on portion to the process only takes up a few minutes each day.
I wanted to create a candied orange that wasn’t crystalised. By crystalised I mean an orange that you can visibly see sugar crystals on the outside of your orange. I wanted a smooth candied finish. Thanks to David Lebovitz, I discovered the secret is to use corn syrup in your syrup mix. It was his recipe for candied citrone that I tweaked to come up with the method for candying a whole orange.
I candied blood oranges, but of course you can use normal oranges as well.
I will be placing a recipe and instructions on how to create your own hidden pudding using your candied whole oranges shortly.
I hope you do take on the challenge. As you can see it is really easy, just takes a bit of time. Good luck and if you have any questions about the above please don’t hesitate to ask below or send me an email. I really look forward to hearing from you if you do attempt the above. Let me know how you go!
Do tell dear Belly Rumbles’ reader, what would be your ultimate Christmas pudding?
Sara xxx
Printable Recipe
How to Candy a Whole Orange
Recipe Author: Sara McCleary
Easy method for candied whole oranges. Perfect to create your own Heston Blumenthal hidden orange pudding for Christmas.
4.67 from 3 votes
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Servings 8
Calories 730 kcal
Ingredients
- 6 – 8 blood oranges or substitute regular oranges
- 1540 grams sugar
- 3000 ml water
- 120 ml light corn syrup
Instructions
With a fine needle pierce around your oranges several times. Making sure to insert the need right through the skin or the oranges. This allows the candying syrup to penetrate the oranges. Do not use a skewer!
Place oranges in a large pot (which has a lid) and cover with water. Bring water to a simmer and cook for an hour. This will remove some of the bitterness from the pith of the oranges.
Drain oranges in a colander and set aside.
In the same pot add your sugar, water and corn syrup. Heat until sugar has dissolved and then increase heat until the syrup boils. Reduce heat and place your oranges back in the pot. Place lid on your pot, but do not fit it tightly, leave it slightly off centre, as you want some of the steam to escape. Gently simmer for an hour, make sure it is a very gentle simmer.
Remove pot from the heat and place lid firmly on top of your pot.
The same time next day, place pot back on stove. Place lid slightly off centre again and bring oranges and syrup to a gentle simmer again. This time simmer for 30 minutes.
Once you have done this, remove pot from the heat again, replace lid and leave until the same time the next day.
You repeat this process for eight (8) days. You may need to add a little water if your syrup is reducing too much.
Once you have simmered for your final day. Cool oranges completely and store in a container in your fridge. They will keep for up to six (6) months.
Don’t discard the syrup either as this takes on a deep orange flavour. This then can be used for cordial or many other purposes.
Measurement Notes
All measurements are Australian metric standard. All measures are level, and cups are lightly packed unless specified. 1 teaspoon = 5ml / 1 tablespoon = 20mls / 1 cup = 250ml /4 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
The recipe's nutritional information is an approximation based on an online calculator. It is meant solely for reference purposes. If you're looking for precise details, be sure to double-check with your own research.
Calories: 730kcalCarbohydrates: 189gSodium: 30mgPotassium: 23mgSugar: 188gVitamin A: 30IUVitamin C: 6.9mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.1mg
Did You Make This Recipe?I do a happy dance when people share how they went. Tag me on Instagram or Twitter @bellyrumbles & #bellyrumbles
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Eric Choma
For some reason on the second day my oranges are collapsing. When heated the are nice and round. But when cool they are sunken in. Any idea what I did wrong
Thank youReply
Sara McCleary
Hi Eric
You aren't doing anything wrong. If you have a look at the photos you will see that mine aren't perfectly round either. Some turned out rounder than others, some were more deflated.
It is the physics of an orange. They are large with interiors that are mainly juice and some fiber. The most structural part is the outside skin. As they candy over the 8 day period their interiors break down, which is what causes the collapse.
Thicker skinned oranges will retain their shape more.
So in theory small really thick skinned oranges will retain their shape far better than larger oranges with thinner skin.
Even if not perfectly round they will taste amazing.
Cheers, Sara.
Susan Ward
Thank you for this recipe. These provide fond memories of my childhood and I had no recipe for them and every recipe was always for sliced ones or peel. You are my hero! A company called Rafetto used to sell them in a jar and they were stuffed with dates or cherries and when you sliced the candied orange it looked beautiful. They are no longer selling them for the past decade or two and I missed them as part of my Xmas. Question- do you put it in the frig each day for the 8 days as you make them or do you wait and refrigerate after you are done with the process?
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Susan
I'm glad you stumbled across my recipe. Having them stuffed with dates or cherries sounds amazing!
I didn't refrigerate the oranges during the process, between each cooking session. I simply left them in the pot in a cool area out of the way, and out of direct sunlight.
Once I had finished with the whole process then I put them in the fridge.
Cheers, SaraMarc Benson
I have mandarin oranges - very small (about 2 inches in diameter) and very loose, thin skins. I want to try to candy them, but I suspect this recipe for big, thick skinned oranges will cook them too much. Would you do fewer days, shorter boils, or a combination?
Sara McCleary
Hi Marc
You would have to have a go and see how they turn out. I've never used this method on loose skinned citrus.
Cheers Sara
Ali Senter
Hi, can I use the same method for any fruit (candied berries as an example) and can I use liquid glucose or golden syrup instead of corn syrup?
Thanks
AliReply
Sara McCleary
Hi Ali
I have never tried this method with other fruit, only other citrus. I would be concerned that this method may break down the outer skin of berries. They are quite delicate, and you may end up with jam.
The corn syrup is used to help prevent sugar crystals from forming on the oranges as you candy them.
Yes, you can substitute golden syrup, one for one, it will act the same as corn syrup.
Brown rice syrup is a good substitute as it also prevents sugar crystals from forming. Though it will add a slightly nutty taste to the finished product.
Cheers, Sara
Helen
Thank you for this fab recipe! If I only wanted to candy 3 oranges, should I halve the sugar and water - or still use the same amount of sugar and water? Thank you.
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Helen
In theory yes you could halve the sugar and water. But also use a smaller pot to make sure the oranges are covered by the sugar syrup.
Cheers Sara
Eunice Robertson
Hi, my greatgran used to make the whole orange preserves, and I'd like to try making it too. The only thing is, here in RSA, we cannot get the corn syrup. Is there something I can use instead?
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Eunice
The role of light corn syrup in this recipe is to help prevent the sugar crystalising while candying the oranges. I believe that you can substitute a dash of lemon juice or cream of tartar and it will do the same thing. The quantity I'm not too sure as I personally have not tried it. I hope this helps.
Cheers, Sara
Rose
Hi, I've been following the recipe, it seems to have gone well but what is the best way of telling that the oranges are 'done'? Just cutting them open?
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Rose
After all the time you spend on this recipe, 8 days of candying, they are totally done. To test if they are 'done' the only way is to cut them in half. But trust me, they are done, not need to cut in half.
Rose
Okay, thank you!
Alex
Hello - could I do this with tangerines instead of large oranges? I had candied oranges the size of a golf ball in Amalfi and i'm guessing they were tangerines. I'd love to use this recipe to recreate them. If so, how many should I use for this recipe? Thanks!
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Alex
In theory I see no reason why you couldn't use tangerines. My only concern would be how lose the skin is. If the skin is lose fitting like a mandarin, then when candying you could end up with a pooled layer of candy liquid between the inside of the skin and the fruit itself. Other than that it should work fine.
Alex
Makes sense and thanks for the quick reply!
Yve
I’ve seen candied citrus caps for sale and wondered what you can do with them so looked it up and voila! I found your recipe. It looks fabulous and I’d love to have a go but what exactly do people do with a candied orange apart from putting it in the middle of a surprise Christmas pudding? (Or maybe shredding it and adding to a cake mixture, in which case you’d use shredded bits of candied peel in the first place.) Would love some ideas before I embark on this.
Reply
Sara McCleary
Hi Yve
Apologies for not responding to your comment earlier! I used mine in puddings, but did have a couple left over. They were used with cheese platters and shredded in cakes. Basically they are like a sold marmamlade, Even simply sliced on hot buttered toast or scones worked.
Cheers, Sara
Holly Norton
When in France last month we came across candied clementines and decided to try to make them myself when I got home. I found a recipe similar to this which took 14 days. I am on day 26 and still not done. My big variable is I am at elevation! My hunch is I've never gotten them hot enough for long enough, but I don't know enough about this process to know for sure. Any ideas?? I hope you still check this. Thanks!!
Reply
Simmerings
I have now made this 3x, whole lemons, naval oranges and minneola tangelos. An hour of boiling is too much, it bursts all the juice vesicles. Blanching is a short process. I have had best luck with a 1 minute boil followed by a soak in cool water, repeat 2 times with fresh boiling water. As for candying-- the slower you go the less shrinking there will be. Try the same number of "simmerings" but leave a day or two in between. Your patience will be rewarded!Reply
Sara
Thanks for sharing your experience. I totally agree boiling for an hour would be a total disaster for this recipe. That is why you gently simmer them for an hour. And I mean very gently, the lowest of low simmers.
I will have to give your method a go to try regarding the candy process, thanks for sharing the tip.
Lorraine Aranda
Thanks for the great recipe, I've recently rediscovered my love for glacee and I'm experimenting with all sorts of fruit, recipes. I'm just beginning this recipe and I hope you'll help me converting grams to cups as in: 1540gr = 3.6 lb sugar and 3000ml = 12.7 cups water and 120ml = .51 cups corn syrup. Does that sound right to you? I'll be looking for more of your recipes if I'm successful at this one. Thanks again for spreading sweetness all over the world.
Sara McCleary
Hi Lorraine,
Thanks for dropping in and sorry to take so long to get back to you. The conversions all depend on where you are in the world.
1 cup equals 250ml in Australia where I am located, and it is 237ml in Nth America.
3000ml = 12 Australian cups or 12.66 American cups
There are 453.59 grams in 1 lb. So according to that 3.6 pounds = 1,632.94 grams.On the recipe there is a US customary conversion toggle, which will change it over if that helps. I have my recipes in grams and mls as it is the most accurate and when it coverts over to US customary as the recipe converter does not recognise the difference between Australian and US cups. Plus our tablespoons are different too!
Izi
I am in Rio de Janeiro and found this recipe a couple of weeks ago. By pure chance.
Made it this week, with regular oranges.
It was the best candied fruit I ever had. Perfection! Thanks heaps!Reply
Genevieve
Hi Sara, any suggestions on what we can use instead of corn syrup? I have made your recipe for the last 2 Xmases, but I find the orange tends to collapse and lose its round shape without the corn syrup.
In fact I wouldn't mind if it simply crystallised...should that happen without the corn syrup ( although it didn't)?Reply
Sara
Hi Genevieve,
The corn syrup was added to stop crystallisation. It probably didn't occur when left out due to the long slow candy process. I haven't experimented without using it.. I really didn't think the corn syrup would aid in keeping their shape. As you can see from my photos my oranges aren't perfectly round. They have sloped sides and some indentations in areas, not perfect at all. I wish I could shed some more light on this for you.
shirley
Would glucose syrup (made from corn) do as I can't find corn syrup in my supermarket?
Reply
Sara
Hi Shirley
I believe that glucose will work just as well as corn syrup. The reason why corn syrup is added is to prevent crystallisation, glucose will also prevent this.
Erica
Has anyone done this with a grapefruit? I'd really like to try it, but don't necessarily have time to experiment with it.
Reply
Jaz
It may be a silly question but to store the orange mix each day do you just leave it at room temperature or put it in the fridge each day?
Reply
Sara
Hi Jaz,
No question is silly. I left mine with the lid on firmly at the back of my stove or on the side during the candying process.
With the amount of sugar that is being used we are preserving the orange as we go.
If you are in a part of Australia with really high summer temperatures while you are making this, then maybe you may want to put it in the fridge between each time on the stove top.
I made mine during the month of November in Sydney, and it worked fine without the need to refrigerate.
Iron Chef Shellie
This is awesome! I saw in a cookbook how to candy a whole pineapple and it looked amazing! I should give it a go in the new year 🙂 x
Reply
Katia from Greece
I d like to ask you what do you mean with the "c" in your recipe? How much is 7c sugar and 12 c of water?
Thank youReply
Sara
Hi Katia, 'c' stands for cup. One standard cup is 250ml.
milkteaxx
heard u talk abt this in perth, this looks awesome, have bookmarked for later!
Reply
Amanda@ChewTown
Great post Sara! Gorgeous photos and great recipe. As a recipient of one of your candied orange, I'm looking forward to seeing the second part of the pudding recipe!
Reply
Muppy
I do love this, and I must try it!!!
Reply
john | heneedsfood
Good old corn syrup, hey? I'd love to taste the syrup at the end of the cooking process!
Reply
Sara
It is so full of flavour, quite amazing actually 🙂
Jennifer Stavely-Alexander
Sara, I know this is an old post, but I'm reading it now. I have started the orange process, I need to know, is it still alright if your orange splits during the process, I started with three, one has split already ON DAY ONE, I don't really want to throw her away just because she may look like she has been through a field being cut with a machete LOL, just wondering if it makes a difference to the candying process effectiveness?
Sara
Hi Jennifer,
The orange really shouldn't split. Yes it will effect the final outcome for that orange. How? To be honest I really don't know as I haven't had one split.
I say keep going with the split one and see how it turns out. As you said it would be a shame to throw one out just because it has been attacked by a machete 😉
Do you need all three for what you were planning on doing? Or were you making extras?
If you need three for three puddings, I say put another orange in now.
What I imagine will happen to the one that has split, is that the inside will start to break down as it cooks, as the liquid will have direct contact with the flesh. How much it breaks down not sure, and how much of that seeps out into your candy mixture not sure either. I say keep going with it unless it really starts to fall apart, then take it out. Add an extra orange in for back up.
Sara x
Food is our religion
love the colour on that candied orange! and you stole the exact words out of my mouth. It looks so easy but I am sure it is quite a challenge!
Reply
Helen (Grab Your Fork)
Ooh the corn syrup trick is a clever one!
Reply
YaYa
Heavenly photos, the oranges look so good!
Reply
Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy
This is a fantastic recipe Sara - I am definitely giving this one a go and I just love that it gives you a lovely bottle of syrup at the end too!Reply
