Thursday, January 21, 2016

How to Make a Citrus Powder

ground lemon peel

In keeping with my tagline I'm always looking for things that are simple and sustainable. The honey takes care of the sweet. 


If you've been hanging around a while you know that I am going to try to upcycle, reuse, or recycle just about everything. Dryer lint in the compost or as a fire starter for instance. One of my favorite things is to come up with a way to eliminate another kind of waste.


Citrus peels have always been a bit of a strange thing to dispose of. They take a long time to break down in the compost so generally I put them down the disposal as a freshener. Then while I was making some of my Kitchen Sink Salt Scrub I thought how nice and kitcheny it would be to add bits of dried orange peel to it so I took a clementine peel cut it into strips with my kitchen shears and popped it in the oven on warm with the door open.

This is how I dehydrate all my herbs as well. I am not someone who likes kitchen gadgets. I literally have fewer things than anyone else I know. Seriously, at the moment there is a crock pot, food processor, and coffee grinder.

You do not need a food dehydrator. This oven method works in about an hour. Especially this time of year when the air is so dry. When the bits are thoroughly dry--otherwise they'll mold--then pop them in a coffee grinder that you've cleaned out. After the clementine peel worked so well I did some lemon and lime.


The fragrance of this process would be worth the trouble even if you didn't come up with the most wonderful citrus powder ever. My kitchen smells like some tropical paradise!

dried orange peel

I have a couple of uses in store for this deliciously beautiful ingredient so stay tuned for that. Here's a hint: I added the powder to a teaspoon of honey and it tasted magical. Can a flavor be magical? Well, this was.

Okay, let's recap.

Peel citrus.
Cut into strips.
Dehydrate.
Grind to powder.

I have a couple of product ideas up my sustainable sleeve too. They'll be available this spring. I'll keep you posted about those! Remember if you want to know what's going on before everyone else follow along on Instagram or the Facebook page. 




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