TMW

CANDIED CITRUS PEELS

MAKES 1 ½ CUPS / ACTIVE TIME: 25 MINUTES / INACTIVE TIME: 1 HOUR

1½ cups organic orange and lemon peels, trimmed of excess white pith

¾ cup sugar

½ cup water

Cut the peels to about 3-inch lengths. Blanch them in a medium pot of boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Set on a wire rack to drain.

In a medium pot, make a simple syrup by combining ½ cup of the sugar and the water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the peels and cook over low heat for another 10 minutes. Dry the peels on the wire rack for about 1 hour. (Use the leftover syrup in cocktails or drinks.)

Once the peels are stiff and somewhat sticky, roll them in the remaining ¼ cup sugar until coated. Store in a cool, dry, sealed container for up to a month.

 

Other Ways to Enjoy Citrus Scraps and Rinds

MAKE CITRUS-INFUSED WATER:

Throw 2 lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit halves (or any combination thereof) in a gallon container of water in the refrigerator. It lasts for weeks. Add some mint.

TIP: Peel the rinds before juicing lemons. You will be less likely to throw them out since it’s much easier to peel before the lemon has been cut and squeezed.

MAKE DRIED FLAVORINGS:

Dry the peels whole or zest them to flavor tea, rice, and other dishes.

MAKE CITRUS SALT:

Mix lemon zest with thyme or other herbs and store in a glass jar with salt for a delicious seasoning.

MAKE PRESERVED LEMONS:

In a mason jar, combine 8 leftover lemon halves, ¼ cup salt, and ¼ cup sugar. Add the juice of 1 lemon. Shake and store for several weeks in a mason jar in the refrigerator. When ready to use, rinse the salt off the rind and chop or slice. Use in salads and stews.

 

HOW TO MAKE
FRUIT LIQUEUR

WASH AND CLEAN the imperfect or soft (but not rotten) fruit. Place in a ½-gallon mason jar and pour enough alcohol (vodka, brandy, gin, or rum) to cover. Put a cover on the jar. Let steep for 3 to 5 days. If you are going to use the liqueur within a couple of days, you can leave the fruit in, but if you want to keep it longer, strain out the fruit. The strained liqueur will be good for years.

LEMONADE
IS ONLY THE HALF OF IT

THIS BOOK uses a lot of fresh lemons, so you may end up with leftover lemon halves and rinds. Don’t throw them out. The lemon skin contains most of the essential flavorful oils.

When using the rinds, choose organic lemons, as citrus skin absorbs pesticides. And go for thin-skinned varieties with less of the white pith, since it tends to be bitter and has to be scraped away.

I like to dry citrus peels on the radiator in my apartment to make tea. But sometimes before I can, my girlfriend Kelly snags them for her homemade body scrub. Here’s her simple recipe:

KELLY’S BODY SCRUB

Pulp from 6 carrots, dried for 1 to 2 days on the radiator and ground into a powder in a coffee grinder

Peel from 1 orange, dried for 1 to 2 days on the radiator and ground into a powder in a coffee grinder

1 tablespoon used coffee grounds

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Mix together in a bowl and keep in a 1-cup lidded container.

 

CUCUMBER

ALTHOUGH IT IS ALMOST always treated as a vegetable, the cucumber is technically a fruit—a botanical berry, to be precise. Like its cousins the squashes and gourds, the cucumber grows from a vine. Although we have yet to see them in any grocery store, the cucumber’s stems, tips, young leaves, and flowers are also edible. Because they have such a high water content (more than 90 percent in some varieties), cucumbers don’t store very well. They can dry up, wrinkle, and lose their crispness quickly. Here’s what you can do with them.

CHARRED WRINKLED CUCUMBERS

SERVES 4 / TIME: 15 MIN

Cucumbers don’t have to only be eaten raw. I like to cook them on a grill, or over the flame of a gas stove. The important thing is that one side is charred (or lightly burned), and the other is raw. Serve on the side with grilled fish or meats.

2 unpeeled cucumbers (more or less; wrinkled is fine), cut in half lengthwise

Over a hot fire (about 400°F) roast/char the cucumber halves on the peel side until the peel is browned. Leave the open flesh side raw.

Alternate method: Set the oven to broil, place the cucumbers, peel side up, on a baking sheet, on the top rack. Broil, watching the charring closely; as soon as the cucumber wrinkles and browns, remove from the oven. Let cool.

BRINED CUCUMBER PEEL

MAKES 1½ CUPS OR MORE / ACTIVE TIME: 10 MIN / TOTAL TIME: 3 TO 5 DAYS

I love a great pickle for banh mi sandwiches, burgers, reubens, or as a condiment. Use unwaxed organic cucumbers to avoid potential pesticide residue.

Peels from 3 (or more! What is in your refrigerator?) unwaxed organic cucumbers

4 cups water

0.7 ounces (3½ teaspoons) kosher salt (exact proportion is critical for brining)

Pack the cucumber peels into a sterilized large ceramic pot or gallon mason jar (not metal).

Pour the water into the container and add the salt. Put with a lid that fits inside the crock (a drop lid) on the solution and a weight so that the peels do not rise above the salt solution.

Leave the container covered at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, checking it from time to time, until it starts to bubble. If a white bubbly foam appears, skim it off. If a dark scum or mold appears, this means that the jar or some other element was not sterile and you will need to throw it out in the compost.

Taste for sourness and if it is sour enough, lightly rinse the cucumbers, transfer to a jar, and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.