Food Waste to Good Taste: 3 ways to use your lemon peels

‘Food Waste to Good Taste’ is an exciting campaign that we are running in partnership with @HKU_Science and @Green.Hospitality. The study will measure the nutritional value of food scraps from restaurants across Hong Kong to highlight the local food waste issue in two folds: from an environmental perspective and from a health perspective. The campaign hopes to encourage restaurants and consumers to be more conscious of the loss of nutritious food waste and optimise food scraps into new recipes to further reduce food waste.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Here are 3 very simple hacks to make the most out of your lemons and turn the peels into gourmet appeals 😉🍋

Lemon salt

If you are looking to add a zesty lemon kick to either sweet or savoury dishes, especially if you are out of fresh lemons, then lemon peel powder or lemon peel powder salt are the perfect solution. They make for excellent additions to your soups, pastas, muffins or tarts. Make sure to store them in an airtight container at room temperature, avoiding direct sunlight to preserve the vibrant yellow of lemons for longer.

Ingredients:

• Lemon peels from 6 to 8 lemons (if you don’t have that many, save the peels in the freezer until you have enough)

• ½ cup of salt

Recipe:

• First, we need to dry out the lemon peels. You can either dry out naturally in the sun, use a dehydrator, or place them on a baking sheet to bake in the oven at a its lowest temperature for 6 hours. 

• Dry the peels until they are crispy and tough.

• In a food processor or blender, blend the peels into a powder form. 

• If you are looking to make lemon peel powder, then there you go! Follow the rest of the recipe for lemon peel salt.

• Mix one tablespoon of the lemon peel powder with half a cup of salt.

• Sprinkle it over any dish for a zesty citrus note!

Photo credits to PlantYou

Candied lemon peels

It’s time to ditch the packaged sweets that are store-bought! Rather make them yourself so you can 1) reduce packaging waste, 2) control the level of sweetness.

Ingredients:

• Lemon peels from 3 lemons

• 8 cups of cold water, or as needed

• 2 cups of white sugar, or as needed

Recipe:

• Depending on what shape your lemon peels are in, cut them into thin strips. 

• In a small pan, bring the water and the peels into boil. Drain the water and repeat this step three times to remove the bitterness from the lemon.

• After repeating the previous step, set the peels aside to cool.

• In the same pan, bring to boil 2 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar. Make sure to keep stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

• Once fully dissolved (all the sugar crystals should disappear), reduce the heat to low. 

• Mix in the citrus peels and let it simmer until the white pith becomes translucent.

• Pour all content (syrup and peels) into a jar and keep refrigerated.

• Alternatively, you can choose to coat the candied peels with sugar. In this case, strain the peels from the syrup (make sure to keep the syrup for other recipes!) and let them dry before tossing them in sugar. Store them in an airtight container.

Photo credits to Bright Eyed Baker

Lemon extract

This recipe can not be any more straightforward - utilising only 2 ingredients, you can make your own pure lemon extract (natural and free of any additives or chemicals). You can also think about making this homemade lemon extract as a gift too! With just a few drops, you can enrich any baking or cooking dishes with a bold citrus flavour. You can also add this lemon extract to any beverages. 

Ingredients:

• Lemon peels from 3 lemons 

• 1 cup of vodka

Recipe:

• Make sure you wash your lemons thoroughly with water and mild soap or vegetable wash to remove any dirt or pesticides.

• When peeling the lemons, try to only scrape the outermost peel layer (avoiding the white part as it can add a bitter flavour to the extract).

• Depending on the size of the jar you are going to use, you can choose to either keep the peels as bigger slices, or grate them finely so they can fit through the jar opening.

• Using a sterilised jar with a lid, add the peels into it and submerge them entirely with the vodka. Give the jar a good shake. 

• If you are using a metal lid, then use a parchment paper between the lid and jar to avoid corrosion. Alternatively, a plastic lid is safe to use. 

• Place the jar in a cool, dark space for 4 to 8 weeks. 

• Shake it every few days to infuse all flavours. 

• The longer the mixture stays, the stronger the extract becomes. 

• After the mentioned period of time, strain the peel from the extract and place the infused liquid into a clean jar. You can keep this lemon extract for up to 5 years, provided it’s stored properly (avoiding sunlight is key!). 

Photo credits to GretasDay

(You can also freeze the peels for later use or place them in the fridge to help deodorise your fridge)