This post came about as I was eating a perfectly delicious orange from our tree which set me thinking of ideas for the skin/zest/peel part of the fruit, this is what I came up with.
Firstly a few general points on citrus fruits ...
~ This post covers oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit (plus
any other citrus fruit you can think of) and as a general guideline, at least
so far as peel is concerned ...
1 grapefruit = 3 oranges = 5 lemons = 6 limes
~ Wash and dry citrus fruits well, especially if you intend
eating the skin.
~ Remove zest before you do anything else with fruit (such as
cutting, squeezing etc.) it is so
much easier that way.
~ When removing the zest (the brightly coloured outer layer)
be careful not to take the pith! This is the white fleshy stuff between the
zest and the fruit; it is bitter.
~ Grated or shredded zest can be frozen for later (well worth
doing as it is so useful) by wrapping small pieces in cling film and making a collection
in an airtight container in the freezer. As the pieces are so tiny the zest can
be used immediately from frozen.
1. It might seem a
bit old school but serving homemade citrus ice cream in the shell of the fruit
is attractive, economical and a handy way of storing the dessert already
portioned. You can, of course, do it with bought in ice cream too but where’s
the point in buying it when you can make ice cream so very easily?
2. Put a few empty
peels in the cavity of a chicken before roasting, lemon is the norm here but
depending on your accompaniments orange and lime work well too. Try orange peels in a roast duck.
3. Clean
chopping boards by scrubbing with the inside of a used lemon plus a sprinkling
of coarse sea salt. If you've got a tricky stain let the fruit sit directly on it
for a while to bleach it.
4. Speaking of
stains, if you have discoloured elbows (no need to explain!) rest
them in a couple of squeezed lemon skins for a while and then wash them!
5. Used citrus
peels can make your home smell good, just leave them about the place or simmer
them in a pan of water or do a similar thing in the microwave.
6. Slightly dried
out peels, particularly orange, are good thrown on a wood fire to make a lovely
smell – great at Christmas time.
Large Strips of Zest
These are easily removed from the fruit using a
potato peeler.
Use large strips of zest to ...
7. Flavour spirits,
normally this would be vodka and lemon but gin and lemon would work to as would
rum and orange for instance. Ad strips
of peel to the booze, seal and wait a week or so, strain before drinking. Or
make ...
8. Limoncello
the zest of 5 lemons,
removed in large strips
1 ltr vodka
750g white sugar
~ Pour out a small
amount of vodka and drink it!
~ Add the lemon peels to the bottle,
close tightly and leave it alone for a week apart from giving it a shake once a
day.
~ At the end of a week prepare a
large, clean jar with a tightly fitting lid.
~ In a small pan over low heat stir
together the sugar and 750ml water till the sugar is dissolved (or melted – I’m
never sure which!). Cool.
~ Pour the vodka and lemon rind into
the clean jar, stir in the cooled syrup, seal tightly and wait another week or
so, continuing with the shaking.
~ Store in a dark place and drink over ice.
9. Similarly use
citrus strips to flavour olive oil – just add the strips to the oil making sure
they are completely submerged.
10. Use a twist of
fresh citrus zest to garnish drinks OR freeze little citrus twists in ice cubes.
11. Crystallised Orange & its Ensuing Syrup
This is taken directly from my book, Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine, the
Sauces Coulis and Syrups Chapter (so I've made it red to indicate that it's a quote) and is used to make luscious no-churn orange
ice creams but is also good drizzled on all manner of things!
“You can mostly sit and read or watch telly or play
online bingo or whatever whilst this is cooking but do check occasionally. What
you are checking for is that the fruit juice has not reduced and thickened too
much. If it is too thick and getting frothy add a splash of hot water.
Remember you are aiming not only for tender zest but also a syrupy syrup – not
jam.
2 gorgeous oranges
200g white sugar
200g icing sugar
~ Wash and dry two lovely bright unblemished oranges.
~ Using a potato peeler peel long strips of zest from the fruit – just the
bright orange skin, not the white and bitter pith underneath.
~ Using a sharp knife cut the zest into little strips, or ‘julienne’.
~ Squeeze the juice from the denuded fruits into a measuring jug and, if
necessary, make up to 500ml with water.
~ Bring the juice and sugar to a boil stirring till the sugar has
dissolved.
~ Add the orange zest strips, partly cover the pan and simmer gently,
topping up occasionally, till the zest is tender – 45-60 minutes.
~ Turn off the heat and cool a little in the pan.
~ Strain, keeping both the zest and the syrup.
~ Preheat oven to 275°F/140ºC/120ºC fan/gas .1
~ Sift the icing sugar onto a baking sheet or large plate and roll the
orange zest in the icing sugar to coat it.
~ Spread out on a non-stick pan liner or baking parchment and bake for an
hour or so to dry out.
~ Cool and keep dry for up to 3 months.
~ Also keep the syrup.”
Large strips of Citrus Zest can also be dried
Lay in a single layer not touching layer on a plate somewhere warm and dry for a few days. They
can then be stored in an airtight container out of the sunlight and used
whenever you remember you’ve got them!
12. Add dried peels
to your tea instead of lemon or milk.
13. Put a strip or
two into stocks, soups and stews.
Grated Zest
The easiest tool for grating is a fine Microplane but any grater will do.
15. Mix finely
grated zest into pastry at the breadcrumb stage; orange zest pastry makes for
fab mince pies.
18. Stir into
breadcrumbs for coating or topping dishes.
19. Add to cake
recipes or other baked goods eg. scones, biscuits etc.
20. Citrus Sugar
Mash finely grated zest of 1 orange (or equivalent - see above) into about 250g granulated sugar till very well
combined. Spread out on a tray and leave for several hours to dry. Use to
replace plain sugar in appropriate recipes, sweeten tea, rim a cocktail glass,
sprinkle on fruits, etc.
22. Lemon Pepper
Mix
together 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest and 3 of coarsely crushed
peppercorns (a mix looks pretty but black peppercorns are fine). Spread out on a foil lined
baking tray and bake in a very low oven till the zest has dried out which takes
about half an hour. Decant into the bowl of a pestle and mortar and crush to
your desired texture. Gradually stir in
crunchy sea salt to taste.
23. Gremolata
This
is a classic Italian seasoning/garnish and is simply lemon zest, parsley and
garlic. In slightly more detail finely grate the zest of 2 lemons and then (otherwise
you might contaminate the rest of the lemon fruits) 1 large clove of garlic.
Finely chop a small bunch of parsley and mix all three ingredient together.
Gremolata adds bright highlights of colour and
flavour to all sorts of dishes; sprinkle over lamb, chicken, fish, veggies and
so on. Of course you could get all creative and use orange zest instead.
Mix
together 3 tablespoons of grated zest of your choice (or a mixture), a finely
chopped garlic clove or two, a little chilli or paprika, salt and pepper and a
little oil. I am being vague here as there are so many things you can rub this
on; beef would go with orange and bit of chilli heat, fish with lemon or lime,
chicken maybe heavy on the garlic and so on.
Anyhoo, mix these all together and rub onto your piece of meat or fish. Allow to sit for 30 minutes (or longer
in the fridge) before cooking using a dry heat eg. grilled, pan fried, baked
etc. Maybe add a little grated fresh ginger!
Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers
If I can think of all these ideas for zest and peel don't you wonder what I've come up with for the other 449 leftovers in my leftover cookbook?
