How to use lemon peel to surprise loved ones with your culinary skills

Lemon juice is often used in cooking or for home beauty treatments, and the peel is discarded. After all, it contains the most useful substances, including vitamin C, which makes this fruit so valuable. Thanks to the peel, the lemon is so fragrant, because the essential oils are contained in it, and not in the juice.

Why throw away this valuable product, if it can be used with benefit for the cause.

How to save lemon peels

You can save the peels for later use in two ways:

• Freeze Chop to the desired size and freeze in small bags. If you are freezing large pieces, you can spread them out on a cutting board, freeze, and then collect in a tray or bag. If you plan to add to the tea for flavor, you can cut it into large pieces. If it is planned to be used for the preparation of desserts, it is better to grate it on a fine grater;
• Dry. You can dry the crusts in an electric dryer, oven or simply in a dark, dry place, spread out on paper.

It is important to remember that the white layer between the crust and the pulp gives bitterness. The skin must be carefully cut off, it can be removed using a special device or a regular fine grater. The main thing is that there is no white layer on the peel.

Although sometimes spicy bitterness will not hurt, for example, when brewing tea. Here you should focus on your own taste.

How to use lemon peel

Frozen peel can be used just like fresh – add it to a cup of tea, baking or an exotic dish, sprinkle a dessert with small shavings, add it to jelly or compote for aroma.

Some housewives add fresh or frozen peel when cooking jam. For example, a couple of cans of ordinary apple jam can be easily turned into lemon jam by adding zest.

Dry crusts will become a real magical ingredient in the kitchen. You can make unique drinks from them.

1. Tea for the lazy. Add peels to regular black or green tea to give it a subtle citrus aroma.
2. Homemade tea. Any tea, including herbal tea, can be used as a basis. Add lemon peels, a little dried ginger to it. You can experiment with adding fragrant herbs, such as mint or lemon balm.
3. Vitamin tea. Mix dried rose hips, lemon peels, currants, mountain ash. You can add other ingredients to your taste.

And dry peels can be ground in a coffee grinder and used as a flavoring for baking and desserts.

Having this “secret ingredient” at hand ” it is easy to surprise guests with culinary skills.