DECEMBER 16: Make the most of citrus, easy tips for a food saving squeeze

sliced orange fruit with knife
Make the most of your Christmas citrus, leave nothing to waste. Photo by Oleg Magni on Pexels.com

THE LEMON GROVE CHRISTMAS ADVENT CALENDAR: December 16⁣

With the Christmas holiday season fast approaching our thoughts naturally go towards prepping for meals, snacks and cocktails.⁣⁣

Many of us will be ordering food and drink to feed family and friends, although Covid-19 and our respective government laws and guidelines will make for uneasy gatherings in small groups.⁣

At the same time, I reading online and in newspapers about the amount of food wasted that will over the next few weeks, for lacking ideas about to do with it.⁣

So here is a list of suggestions about how to minimise the amount of seasonal citrus that ends up in compost bins.⁣

These ideas depend on what you’ve made with the fruits, for example just using the zest, or juice.⁣

*  Make flavoured salt.  Dry the zest, uncovered overnight. Mix wirh similar volume of coarse ground sea salt. ⁣

* Candy the peel.⁣

* Freeze zest, and juice (separately) to add to cooking and recipes. ⁣

*. Add juices halves to tray baked vegetables. ⁣

*  Put towards making marmalade.⁣

* Make preserved lemons. Perhaps add a cinnamon stick, dried read chillies or bay leaves.⁣

* Make a cleaning fluid. Soak lemon  piece(s) on vinegar for two weeks. Use neat or diluted.⁣

* Make essential oil. Just cover peel with vodka. shake bottle two or three times a day. Strain after at least three days, strain. Leave uncovered for a few days to allow alcohol to evaporate.⁣

* Finally, once you’ve squeezed as much value out of the fruit, pop it into the  compost. Peels are good sources of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.⁣

Please let me know what you do with you citrus ‘waste ‘ 🍊🍋

There are so many ways to make the most from your citrus, leave nothing to waste © Bruce McMichael
Bruce McMichael

Food writing, discovering food stories, meeting producers, chefs and food enthusiasts are all part of desire to inspire, inform my readers and fellow food lovers. I am a freelance writer, journalist and published author focusing on the international world of food and drink, culture and travel. In 2019 I graduated from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy with a Masters in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing. I am now a visiting Professor at the university teaching Food & Drink Writing. Based in London I travel widely, particularly across western Europe. I have chaired many conferences and meetings, spoken at conferences and events and often appear on radio and TV talking most about food, the business of food and being an entrepreneur. In 2017 I won an episode of the ITV (the UK-based national television channel) cooking competition show, 'Gordon Ramsay's Culinary Genius'. I took my children on holiday to Sicily with the prize money. As an experienced farmers' market manager and operator of a small marmalade/ preserves company, I am very familiar with the issues surrounding local food, farming, enterprise and the environment.