Mix Spent Citrus Peels in Cocktail Syrup

The citrus season is over, but the lemons and limes remain. Both fruits are widely used to add a small (or large) amount of acid to foods and drinks, and both leave behind a skin of pith and zest when squeezed. You can compost the spent rinds , or freeze them and then grate them over the zest … or you can mix them with water and use the syrup liquid.

If you often drink smoothies, sweet tea or lemonade, I suggest you make a syrup. Private chef and TikTok user Veronica Aiken (@chefv707 ) can tell you about her process, but you don’t have to use her exact proportions. In the video above, she adds an undetermined amount of lime peels to the blender, along with three cups of water. She stirs the mixture three times, then strains the liquid into a saucepan, adds three cups of sugar, and heats the entire shebang over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

I only had two citrus peels, one Meyer lemon and one regular, so I couldn’t use the exact proportions recommended by Aiken. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to see and get the right amount of water.

Start by adding the peel to the blender. If they are large, cut them into halves or quarters. Then add enough water to almost cover the peel. They should be mostly closed and some parts should stick out above the waterline. Keep track of how much water you add, as the amount of sugar added will vary depending on this.

Turn the mixture on three times or mix for a few seconds. Strain the liquid into a saucepan and add some sugar – you can use white or brown as you like. (I used the mixture because I ran out of egg whites.) If you want to make a simple syrup, add the same amount of sugar (by volume) as the amount of water you added earlier. If you want something thicker, you can add twice as much sugar, but this can mask the flavor you’ve extracted from the citrus. Either way, heat over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then let cool and strain (again) into bottles or jars.

The resulting syrup will taste sweet and citrus, two of my favorite flavors. You can smear syrup on brownies or drizzle on ice cream, but it really does sing in an icy drink. Top it with a margarita for a super citrus marg or make a rich lemonade. If nothing else, refer these TikTok girls and add them to your water bar . A water bar is nothing without an extensive library of syrups.