Make This Delicious Citrus Syrup With Just Two Ingredients
The citrus season is coming to an end and I’m upset about it. I’ve been gorging on citrus sumos for weeks now, trying to cram as much of the bright, tangy sweetness into my mouth as possible until the bumpy fruit disappears within a year.
In an attempt to prolong the joy that sumo brings me, I even hoarded their skins. They may not be juicy or sweet, but they still have a ton of flavor in their cell walls waiting to be extracted – and you can do it with a little sugar. The sugar draws the oils out of the peel, and that oil in turn dissolves the sugar, creating a syrup that trendy bartenders call “oleo saccharum.” You can measure out everything we’ve discussed here, but you can also just toss it all into a jar, shake, and strain when you remember.
I prefer the latter method obviously.
Gather the skin and remove it from the core (the white part inside) with a Y-shaped knife (or cheese knife) as far as possible. The core can give the syrup a bitter taste, so try not to add thick chunks of it.
You can make a little syrup or a lot of syrup, depending on how much peel you have. If you want to make a lot of syrup, keep the peel in the freezer until you have what you think is “enough”. A couple of citrus fruits will give you a couple of tablespoons of syrup, depending on how much zest they have.
Either way, all you have to do is toss the peel into a jar and add a spoonful of sugar. Shake the jar so that the peel becomes rough and sprinkled with sugar; you want each strip to sparkle with sucrose, with a little extra at the bottom of the jar. If the peel is not completely covered, add more sugar and shake the jar again.
Leave the jar for a few hours or overnight, shaking it lightly a couple of times if you remember to do so. The longer your extraction time, the more likely you are to extract a bitter taste, although I have left a jar of lemon peel to extract for a few days and it tastes great.
Strain the peel from the syrup and then use the fragrant, sweet, and slightly floral liquid to sweeten smoothies, tea, or plain seltzer. You can also sprinkle it on desserts and baked goods like cakes, ice cream or pancakes .