Orange Peel Spoon Sweet - Glyko Portokalaki - cooking recipe

Ingredients

5 oranges (2 1/2 pounds)
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preparation

Wash und rub well the oranges.
Slice the orange peel in half, then quarters, then eighths - top to bottom. Remove peel in strips (eat the oranges!).
Cut strips in half, across the width.
Orange peel, with or without the external part, is bitter. This process removes most of that bitterness without bleaching out the flavor, and softens the peel. Place peel in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, timing from when it starts to bubble.
Drain in a strainer or colander and rinse under running cold water.
Repeat step 4 boiling for 3 minutes. Repeat step 5. Total boiling time: 11 minutes.
Place sugar and water in a saucepan and stir until sugar is dissolved.
Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 5 minutes.
Add orange peel, return to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes just until the syrup begins to thicken slightly (it should be quite syrupy - but thick enough to coat a metal spoon).
Stir in lemon juice and remove pan from heat.
Allow to cool completely before storing in sterilized jars.
Note. I like to rolls peel strips before cooking them (fixing with a stick) or simply rolling them before placing in the jar.