When we first came across National Candied Orange Peel Day, we had to admit that we weren’t all that familiar with candied orange peels. They weren’t food items that we had ever made or eaten, so we were fascinated when we first heard about them.

We learned everything about them that we could, including their long and illustrious history in Arab culture. Now that we know about this food, we would like to encourage everyone to celebrate this holiday and make their own candied orange peels on this day. If you do, then you can rest assured that May 4th is going to be one sweet day.

The History Of Candied Fruit

Although we can’t pinpoint exactly when orange peels were first candied, we do know quite a bit about when fruit in general was first candied. Historians believe that it was during the 14th century that people started candying fruit to preserve it. They would take whole fruit, peels, or smaller pieces of fruit, and then place them in heated sugar syrup.

The syrup absorbs the moisture from the fruit and will eventually preserve it—with it taking anywhere from several days to several months for the process to be completed. Once preserved, the fruit will retain its quality for up to 12 months. In Arab culture, it became common to preserve orange peels in this manner since oranges had been cultivated for many thousands of years around Asia and became available through trade routes.

Facts About Oranges

We’ve selected a number of fun facts about oranges that we’d like to now share with everyone who’s thinking about celebrating National Candied Orange Peel Day.

• Orange juice is the most popular fruit juice in America.
• Oranges are the largest citrus fruit in the world.
• Half of the world’s orange juice is produced by Brazil.
• More oranges are killed every year by lightning than they are due to plant diseases.
• There are over 600+ varieties of oranges in the world.

Observing National Candied Orange Peel Day

Making candied orange peels might seem daunting at first, but they can quite easily be made in the privacy of your home. Simple recipes only use orange peels, water, granulated sugar, and a bit of salt for the candy-making process. While you’re making your own candied orange peels, don’t forget to use the hashtag #CandiedOrangePeelDay on social media to spread the word about this holiday.