River Cottage

Step 1

Scrub the oranges and using a sharp knife, remove the peel and attached pith. Weigh out 250g or peel and cut into slices about 6mm x 5cm. Place the peel in a large pan and cover with 2 litres of cold water.

Step 2

Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, drain and return to the pan with 1 litre of cold water. Bring to the boil again and simmer, covered, this time for 45 minutes. Then add the sugar and stir until it’s dissolved, simmer for a further 30 minutes, still covered. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 24 hours.

Step 3

Bring the pan to the boil again - if using glucose syrup, add it now - and boil for 30 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated and the sticks are coated with bubbling syrup. Allow to cool then carefully remove sticks to a wire rack. Leave in a warm place (an airing cupboard is ideal) for 24 hours.

Step 4

Break the chocolate in to pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat and dip half of each orange stick in the melted chocolate, placing on greaseproof paper to set. Before dipping the sticks will last 3-4 months, once dipped in chocolate they are best eaten within 3 weeks.

• Candied orange sticks feature in our new Online Preserves course. We will also be adding Hedgerow and Bread to our current courses, Online Game, Pig & Pork, Catch & Cook and Mushroom Magic next week. Each course is crammed with eight hours of tutorials, step-by-step guides and video recipes, and cost �20 in our online shop however all of them come free with River Cottage Membership, which is �35 a year.