Orange peel: how to make at home

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Not everyone knows how to make orange zest. Meanwhile, this is a necessary product, and it is desirable to have some of it in the kitchen bins. If you need to use it, the zest will be within reach.

What is this?

Surely everyone knows what a bright sunny color an orange has, a cold yellow in a lemon and a languid green in a lime. That same top layer with a porous surface is called citrus peel. Let us clarify that the spice is precisely a thin colored layer. Many, not knowing how to make orange zest, may try to make it simply from the skin of the fruit. But this decision will be wrong. The zest of this plan is of little use.

Where is this seasoning used

Before we make orange zest, let's find out the moments when it can be very useful. So where is this citrus product needed:

• Orange zest can also be useful for dough. How to make a fragrant additive - we will definitely find out in today's article. The zest is well manifested in buns, rich pies. It is added during the preparation of cookies and muffins. This spice is used very often for cakes. Not only the cakes can contain fragrant orange zest, but the cream for this dessert is also flavored with it.
• Meat and fish dishes can also be prepared with aromatic additives.
• Wine and vodka products. Flavors based on the top layer of orange peel are used in liqueurs and not only. How to make orange zest, it will not be superfluous to know for lovers of homemade tincture.
• Tea or coffee turns out delicious if you add a certain amount of fragrant peel, well prepared, to the drink.
• The use of the product is not only in the culinary field. Home cosmetology - ample opportunities for preparing orange peel for future use. Also for momentary use in order to aromatize soap, scrub or caring emulsion containing a citrus component.

And now the orange peel instructions and photos.

Express Supplement

This method is especially good when suddenly the recipe for creating a dish says: "add lemon or orange zest." We just take a fresh fruit and, after washing it, we try to take the thinnest top orange layer from it. It makes sense to do this witha special item that helps to qualitatively peel off the top layer from an orange. But what if suddenly you didn’t have such a knife, and the spice is needed this very minute? How to quickly make orange zest in this case? Use a regular grater. You need medium or small. Rub the washed fruit with an orange layer on a grater - and a fragrant spice is ready. You can add it to food.

Pure oranges are the key to a he althy product

It's easy to say that citrus fruits need to be washed before removing the thin top layer of the peel. But today the surface of fruits is often treated with substances that are not very necessary for the body. Therefore, before taking the zest as a dietary supplement or using it in the preparation of cosmetic care products, it must be completely free of applied substances.

First, thoroughly wash the fruit in very warm water. We use a hard washcloth at this point. Rubbing the surface of the fruits to be washed must be persistent, but without excessive fanaticism. Thus, dirt and possible technical pollution will come off the orange well.

The second important point in washing an orange is to pour boiling water over it. It only takes a second or two for the top layer of orange fragrant skin to become more pliable to peel.

Finish sanitization by blotting the orange with a thick paper towel or a clean kitchen towel.

Preparation for future use

Fresh natural flavor is, of course, wonderful. However, it is not always possible to use just suchseasonings. Here, a product prepared for the future is in a hurry to help. There are several ways to prepare orange peel for home use.

Powder

This zest is good if you need a natural dye. Often used in home soap making. In cooking, especially confectionery, the powder also showed itself well. It can be topped up during the preparation of cream for the cake. For dough, this method is simply gorgeous: the resulting orange pollen will harmoniously enter the general composition of buns or muffins.

Zest Recipe

You will hardly find the exact ratio of components in such instructions. Oranges are taken in any quantity. One or ten doesn't matter.

We wash fruits according to the recipe described above in this article. In this case, you can remove the zest in any way. A grater, a special tool or an ordinary sharp knife - these tools will do the job.

Remove the peel very delicately. We capture the colored layer, the white layer of the skin remains on the fruit. If your orange peel has slightly captured the white subcutaneous layer, do not panic. A small amount of white peel will not bring any noticeable discomfort when using orange fragrant pollen.

So, we have orange stripes with a great fresh aroma. Dry these strips in any convenient way. For this purpose, a special dryer for fruits and vegetables is suitable, or you can useoven. Temperature 50 degrees. Drying time 4 hours. We have a semi-finished product.

You can not use the accelerated method at all, but do drying at room temperature. In this case, 4-5 days - and the semi-finished product is ready.

The final step will be the grinding of dried peel. Here you can operate the coffee grinder. The powder is ready. We store it in a tightly screwed dark container in a dry place. Dishes with zest should be in the dark.

Zest in the form of shavings

This option is good for making drinks. You can add orange peel from the zest while brewing tea. Can be used as a flavoring for homemade tinctures.

My oranges. We clean the zest. Again, a grater or a knife - at your discretion. Now grind to the desired fraction. Dry as described above. We store dry zest in a glass container with a tightly closed lid. As soon as it is needed, we easily use the required amount.

Shelf life

It is better to use the resulting natural flavor and aroma additive within two to four months. This is the optimal shelf life. Too old zest loses color, aroma, taste and benefits, no matter how hard you try to prevent it. But, to be honest, before this time, it is likely that you will have to stock up on homemade orange zest again for future use.