On May Day when we were all boycotting spending and staying home I took the time to candy all of the orange peels I had saved in the freezer. I had enough to fill a stock pot.

After you blanche orange peel and scrape off the pith, you simmer it in simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water). When you remove the peel from the syrup, you have sweet, orange-flavored syrup left: I had about three pint jars full, which I stored in the fridge.

Now I get to play with orange syrup. The first thing I did was substitute orange syrup for maple syrup in my morning oatmeal. My current choice is oats cooked in milk flavored with dried cranberries, chopped candied orange peel and chopped almonds. A generous teaspoon of orange syrup sweetens a portion.

Last night I made a cup of cocoa. Instead of sweetening the cocoa powder with salt and sugar and adding milk, I covered the layer of cocoa powder with orange syrup and just a bit of milk to blend it into a paste before I filled my mug with milk. The cocoa was perfectly sweetened with just a faint taste of orange.

That got me thinking. I used to occasionally order a cafe borgia in a Taos cafe: espresso, orange and hot chocolate. What if I made eight ounces of my morning coffee and mixed it into pre-stirred cocoa powder and orange syrup? I made it for breakfast this morning and it was delicious. The proportion is eight ounces of coffee to six ounces of cocoa-orange syrup. Yum.

In the works are some sourdough scones, probably orange-rosemary. I plan to use orange syrup as at least part of the sweetener in the scones in addition to using candied orange peel and chopped fresh rosemary. I’m also going to try to titrate an orange glaze with orange syrup and powdered sugar, perhaps with sharp Eureka lemon juice added to cut the sweetness. I’m thinking a thinly drizzled glaze, rather than a coating (I don’t usually glaze or frost my scones).

When the current cut on my left middle finger heals completely and I can knead bread again, I will make some orange rolls, spread with butter and candied orange peel. I’ll put some butter and orange syrup in the bottom of the baking tray and add more syrup when the warm rolls emerge from the oven.

If I had any seltzer in the fridge, I would surely try the orange syrup in that. And if it gets hot enough for iced tea, I will sweeten glasses of it with orange syrup, rather than the plain sugar syrup I usually use. I am thinking of making iced chai tea instead of regular black tea, thinking the orange and the spices might play well together.

Do you ever candy citrus peel? If so, what is your favorite? And what is your favorite thing to do with orange syrup?