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.
How to Candy a Whole Orange
Ingredients
- 6 – 8 blood oranges or substitute regular oranges
- 7 cups sugar
- 12 cups water
- 6 Tbs 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.
Nutrition
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
Holly Norton says
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!!
Simmerings says
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!
Sara says
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.
Izi says
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!
Genevieve says
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)?
Sara says
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 says
Would glucose syrup (made from corn) do as I can’t find corn syrup in my supermarket?
Sara says
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 says
Has anyone done this with a grapefruit? I’d really like to try it, but don’t necessarily have time to experiment with it.
Jaz says
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?
Sara says
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 says
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
Katia from Greece says
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 you
Sara says
Hi Katia, ‘c’ stands for cup. One standard cup is 250ml.
milkteaxx says
heard u talk abt this in perth, this looks awesome, have bookmarked for later!
[email protected] says
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!
Muppy says
I do love this, and I must try it!!!
john | heneedsfood says
Good old corn syrup, hey? I’d love to taste the syrup at the end of the cooking process!
Sara says
It is so full of flavour, quite amazing actually 🙂
Jennifer Stavely-Alexander says
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 says
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 says
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!
Helen (Grab Your Fork) says
Ooh the corn syrup trick is a clever one!
YaYa says
Heavenly photos, the oranges look so good!
Anna @ The Littlest Anchovy says
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!