If life gives you a lemon, make lemonade out of it! What if you only got lemon or orange zest? Trust me, you're even more fortunate, as this aromatic peel has dozens of different uses, ranging from recipes to beauty treatments.
Zest in the household
Tired of washing greasy pots? Is there a nasty plaque on the stove? When you deep-fried donuts, was everything covered with film and splashes of oil? Of course, all of this is easily washed off with the latest chemicals, but before you breathe in the cleaners, try sprinkling lemon peel with salt and walking over the greasy stains, then wipe off the salt with a damp paper towel.
To remove mineral deposits in a teapot or coffee pot, fill it with water and add a handful of lemon or orange peel. Bring to a boil, leave to infuse for an hour, then drain and rinse.
Those who are tired of rinsing the inside of the microwave can take a bowl of water and lemon zest, put it in the microwave at full power for 5 minutes and enjoy the fragrant steam doing all the work for you.
Wipe chrome surfaces in the bathroom or kitchen with lemon or orange zest, polish with a soft cloth and enjoy the spotless faucets. You can rub copper or brass pots and fittings with a zest slightly dipped in water and then dipped in baking soda, and this product is also suitable for dishes or stainless steel sinks. After rubbing, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes and then rinse with cold water or wipe with a damp cloth.
Zest in cosmetology
Rub a fresh lemon or orange peel over your face, then rinse quickly. This natural toner will instantly make your skin feel firm and refreshed. Apply lemon zest to age spots for 1 hour and they will lighten.
A scented zest scrub can be made in a few minutes by mixing ½ cup sugar with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil and finely chopped lemon, orange, and grapefruit zest. Store excess scrub in the refrigerator or use the entire serving at once to leave your skin feeling soft and smooth.
Zest in cooking
You can use the zest in cooking in hundreds of different ways, from delicious candied fruits to dried zest powder, which can be sprinkled with anything that seems appropriate to you - salad, soup, butter sandwich. The zest is put in pies, sweets, jellies, puddings and other desserts, cakes and cocktails are decorated with it. By the way, the zest can be used not only fresh or dried, it perfectly tolerates freezing.
With the zest, you can make flavored sugar, salt, or pepper, of your choice. To add the zest to the spices, cut off the white part as much as possible from it, dry it up with a crust for 3-4 days and, after grinding, add it to the products. You can put the zest in sugar even fresh, with a white "cork", in which case the product will not only be flavored, but the "cork" will also absorb excess moisture and save sugar from clumping.
The rind chunks are rich in pectin and can be added to jams and jams to thicken the treat. In brines, the zest creates a piquant note, and homemade mustard with zest is surprisingly aromatic and not so "evil".
Many alcoholic drinks are infused on the zest. In addition to the famous limoncello liqueur, there is also grapefruit cello, orange cello. And there is also a bitter tincture on grapefruit crusts with juniper, rice vodka on lemon crusts "Buddha's Hand", vodka with orange zest and cranberries, and many other interesting tinctures and liqueurs.
