Orange Spoon Preserve

In Moroccan tradition, guest who either come to visit your home for the first time or come from a long distance journey, is to offer them a date, a spoonfull of honey, and a glass of milk. After reading this recipe, It says Greeks usually offer a peel served of a spoon to guest, along with a glass of cold water. I guess we all have our own unique traditions, but in the end welcome traditions always end up with something SWEET.

Orange spoon preserve
8 to 9 thick skinned oranges, rinsed and dried
5 ¼ cups Caster (superfine) sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

Grate the oranges lighly and discard the zest. Slice each one vertically into 4 to 6 pieces (depending on the size of the orange), remove the peel from each segment, keeping it in one piece and drop it into a bowl of cold water. *You can use the zest for another recipe*.

Have ready and tapestry needle threaded with strong cotton string. Roll up a piece of peel and push the needle through it so that it is threaded on the string. Continue this process until there are 10 to 12 pieces on the string, then tie the two ends together.Put the sting in a bowl of fresh cold water and leave for 24hrs, changing the water 3times.

Next day drain the string of the peel and put them in a large pan. Pour in about 12 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, partially cover the pan and continue to boil for 15minutes. Drain well. Return the string of peel to the pan, cover with the same amount of water and boil for a further 10 minutes or until the peel feels soft but is not overcooked or disintegrating. Tip them into a colander and leave to drain for at least one hour.

Put the sugar in a large heavy pan and add 2/3 cup of water, stir over an gentle heat until the sugar dissolves, then boil gently without stirring for about 4 minutes until it forms a thick syrup.

Release the fruit into the syrup by cutting the threads. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and leave the peel to stand in the syrup overnight.
Next day boil the syrup very gently for 4-5 minutes, until it starts to set. Stir in the lemon juice, take the pan off the heat and let the preserve cool. Pack the curled peel and syrup into sterilized jars. Seal and label, then store in a cool dry place.

Note, I know it seems like alot of work for some syrup dipped Orange peels, but really its not and they taste amazing. My husband is the one who asked me to make the, It's a neat way to use up something that surely will end up in our trash. It also makes your home smell like orange blossom.