Citrus zest. Description of orange zest with photo, its calorie content; how to make at home; use of the product in cooking; harm and beneficial properties Orange peel is far from complete

Most often, housewives throw away orange zest; they can sometimes use it to make candied fruits. But this is a thoughtless waste of a valuable ingredient that will help solve a lot of everyday problems.

The peel contains fiber, which increases performance, lowers cholesterol, and reduces the likelihood of gallstones. Another benefit of orange zest is its ability to fight colds, this feature is given to it by the vitamin C it contains. In addition, it contains vitamin A, which is responsible for the appearance of the skin, healing damage to the dermis, and neutralizing toxic compounds.

For overweight people, the product is optimal for regular use. The benefit of orange zest for them is the absence of calories and fat. In addition, the peel does not contain sugar and sodium, but is rich in pectin, which restores the intestinal microflora and prevents pathogenic formations.

Zest is popularly considered a product that heals the heart; this opinion has good reason. The benefits of orange zest depend on the flavonoids it contains, which neutralize excess cholesterol, stimulate cardiac activity, in addition, the substances have anti-inflammatory properties.

The disadvantages of the peel are mainly determined by its bitter taste. It is recommended to add it to baked goods in limited quantities. Orange zest can also be harmful if a person is allergic to citrus fruits. Its use may cause irritation and rashes on the skin.

Doctors note that orange peel is harmful for people with high acidity and low blood pressure. Patients with stomach ulcers and other esophageal disorders should absolutely not eat dishes with added peel.

It is worth limiting the consumption of treats to patients with duodenal dysfunction. In addition, there is harm to orange peel for people with intestinal disorders, on the mucous membrane of which the product has an irritating effect.

The benefits and harms of orange zest, according to experts, are in no way inferior to the pulp of the fruit itself. Simply soaking the peel in water helps to easily replenish calcium and vitamin C deficiency. This means adding it to dishes helps boost immunity and helps maintain bone tissue in good condition.

1. Cooking with zest

There are many recipes that call for citrus zest. Orange peel contains so many aromatic substances that it can and should be added to variety of dishes– from sauces to sweets. It goes well with both meat and fish.

2. Remove the zest

When preparing a variety of homemade cleaning products based on vinegar, you should first infuse it with orange zest. Then it will lose its strong vinegar aroma.

3. Refresh with zest

No store-bought fragrances or air fresheners are needed. All you have to do is boil water, add orange zest, cinnamon and cloves, and the house will be filled with pleasant aromas. In addition, this method of refreshing the house also helps to increase the humidity in it, which is especially important in winter.

4. We drive away cats

If you need to discourage a cat, for example, from your favorite indoor flower, you need to put an orange peel around the pot. Cats cannot be called big fans of citrus scents.

5. Bringing beauty

If you grate an orange peel and add it to a body scrub mixture, you will get an amazing aromatic cosmetic product that cannot be compared to any store-bought product.

6. Make a fire

Orange peel is incredibly flammable, making it great for starting a fire.

7. Scent the trash can

If you throw orange peels at the bottom of the trash can, even it will have a pleasant aroma.

8. Repelling insects

Orange peel can repel insects. Firstly, it will help drive away house ants if you place it in places where insects accumulate. And secondly, you can get rid of mosquitoes by rubbing your skin with orange peels.

Recipes with orange zest

1. Petit fours with orange zest

Pour 100 g of flour, a pinch of salt into a clay dish, add 2 eggs, a glass of cream skimmed from boiled milk, 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar and grated orange zest from 2 oranges. At the end, add 2 egg whites, whipped into a strong foam, and knead the dough. Cover the dough with a napkin, leave it for 10 minutes, then put it in small molds and place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. hot oven. When the petits fours have cooled, sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

2. Nougat with orange peels

In a bowl, put 100 g of crushed almonds, hazelnuts or peanuts, the peel of 2 oranges, cut into small cubes, 150 g of sugar, 100 g of honey and a full spoon of water. Place the dish on the fire and cook the mixture, stirring continuously, until a thick mass is obtained. After this, place the mass in an even layer on a greased board or shallow plate, cool and cut into square pieces with a sharp knife moistened with water.

3. Recipe for cookies with orange zest

Knead the dough from 200 g of flour, 2 eggs, 1-2 tablespoons of water, a pinch of salt and grated zest from 2 oranges. Roll out the dough into a layer about 0.5 cm thick, cut out cookies different shapes and fry in boiling oil until golden brown. Ready cookies sprinkle with powdered sugar.

4. Candies with zest

Pour 150 g of sugar into a saucepan, add a spoonful of water, grated zest from 1 orange, place the saucepan on the fire and bring the mixture to a boil. Place the resulting caramel mass in an even layer on a greased board or shallow plate and, without allowing it to cool completely, cut it into small candy pieces with a sharp knife dipped in water.

5. Orange milk - recipe

Place half the peel from one orange in a saucepan, pour in 1/2 liter of boiling milk and leave on the edge of the stove for about 10 minutes. Then strain the milk, add sugar to taste and drink hot. It is recommended to drink orange milk when you have a cold.

6. Orange peel decoction

Pour a glass of boiling water over the peel removed from one orange, cover the dish with a tight lid and leave for 10 minutes. Then strain, sweeten and drink instead of tea. When preparing a decoction of medicinal herbs, also add a few orange peels. The broth will be tastier and more enjoyable.

7. Orange syrup

Cut the peel from 3 oranges into a porcelain bowl, add 500 g of sugar and leave for two days. Then pour a liter of water, put it on the fire, let the zaki sing, strain and bottle it.

* If you add a little cognac to the syrup, you will get a pleasant-tasting “single-alcohol” drink. Same delicious drink You will have it if you add a full spoon of orange juice to a glass of red wine.

Zest

The zest is the outer pigmented, essential layer of the peel (rind) of the fruits of various citrus plants - orange (Citrus aurantium), lemon (Citrus limonum), orange (Citrus sinensis), tangerine (Citrus nobilis) and grapefruit.
Orange zest.
The homeland of oranges is Northwestern India, Sikkim, Indochina. But Pomeranians are bred in all countries of Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, Central and South America, especially on the islands of the Caribbean. In the CIS countries, oranges are cultivated only in Adjara, where they were brought back in the 15th century.

The outer layer of the fruit peel, which is cut from ripe oranges, is used as a spice, cutting them into 4 parts. The thinner the peel is cut, the better the quality of orange peel - dried semi-rolled oval peels, slightly pointed at both ends. The outer surface of the orange peel is rough and orange in color (in some places brighter, even dark brown if the quality of the peel is low). The inner surface of the peels is white (or whitish-gray in the worst varieties). Ground orange peel, which is always used for the preparation of the worst varieties, is yellowish (whitish-cream color if the quality is low). When it comes into contact with the damp white surface of a product (rice, cottage cheese), the orange zest instantly turns it into a beautiful, bright light yellow color.
Orange zest is used in confectionery products (Easter cakes, babas, muffins), in various sweet dishes (jelly, mousses and especially curd pastes). It is added as a flavoring to meat gravies and various fillings for fish and from fish, for poultry and from poultry. In addition to orange zest, leaves and flowers are also used as spices, and each part has a different, unique aroma.
Essences or essential oils are usually obtained from leaves and flowers - petitgrain and neroli, respectively, which are used in the production of liqueurs and partly sweets.
Lemon zest.
Lemon is not known to grow in the wild. This is one of the oldest cultivated plants, long cultivated in the Mediterranean countries and widespread throughout the subtropics, including Transcaucasia and Central Asia. In ancient times, lemon, and especially lemon zest (that is, that part of the lemon that contains its aroma), did not find use. The ancient Greeks and Romans considered the smell of the zest “unbearable”, “unpleasant” and only consumed lemon juice
. And only later, in the Middle Ages, the zest was introduced into use as a spice. Lemon peel, even more so than orange peel, should be cut as thinly as possible, avoiding capturing the white subcortical layer. To do this, wash the lemon, then scald and cut off the zest with a very sharp knife. Typically, lemon zest, unlike orange zest, is cut in the form of a spiral ribbon. If the strip is cut thickly, then the color of the dried zest is yellowish-brown, uneven, but if it is removed thinly and from a ripe lemon, then there will be no significant changes in the color of the zest as a result of drying - it will remain lemon yellow.

Lemon zest is used more widely than orange zest. It can be introduced into vegetable, meat-vegetable and fish salads, as well as in all cold sauces for them. Beet or spinach soups, cabbage soup and borscht, both hot and cold (beetroot soups, kholodniki) can also be improved with lemon zest: it is added half a minute before cooking or immediately after cooking in hot soups and after that they are allowed to “brew” for 3-4 minutes.
The zest gives a special taste to meat and fish sauces and gravies, as well as meat and minced fish(aspic, jellies, jellied meats, mincemeat, rolls, casseroles, gefilte fish and so on.). In lump meat, usually veal, the zest is added 1-2 minutes before cooking or immediately after cooking. In this case, ground zest is sprinkled on the veal, like salt.

Lemon zest is constantly used in a wide variety of confectionery products (muffins, babas, Easter cakes, sweet pies) and sweet dishes (rice and semolina puddings, charlottes, jelly, compotes, jams, mousses, jellies, curd pastes, ice cream, whipped cream).
It should be remembered that lemon zest completely lacks citric acid, which is so rich in lemon pulp, so the zest imparts the aroma of lemon to the dish, not its acid. Orange zest.
The homeland of orange is Southern China. Like lemon, orange is cultivated in subtropical regions of the world. It was brought to Europe by the Portuguese in the 15th century and has since spread to most Mediterranean countries.
However, the practice of using orange peel is relatively small. Until now, most of us throw orange peels in the trash. Meanwhile, harvesting the zest is not a difficult task. It must be cut into thin strips, in as thin a layer as possible. Dried orange peel hardly changes its orange color if it is cut correctly, no more than 2 millimeters thick. It dries easily with normal room temperature, curling up into narrow tubes.
Orange zest is used only in confectionery production and when preparing sweet dishes, just like lemon zest.
Tangerine zest.
The homeland of mandarin is Japan. It is cultivated in many subtropical regions of the world. We use tangerine peel to an even lesser extent than orange peel. Apparently, this is partly explained by the fact that it is more difficult to cut, because tangerine peel much thinner than orange. Meanwhile, it has a completely different aroma and can diversify our table.
The scope of application of tangerine peel is the same as that of orange peel.
Grapefruit zest.
Grapefruit, a cultivated garden tree, was created as a result of selection - a hybrid of a lemon and one of the American orange varieties
(pampelmoses). It became known in Russia only in the 60s of the 20th century as a result of intensive trade exchanges between the USSR and Cuba, and the consumption of grapefruits was mainly limited to raw fruits and juice. Meanwhile, in food in the form of culinary and confectionery The whole grapefruit, including its whole peel (13) or individual zest, can be consumed very successfully.
Grapefruit zest is extremely thin and exquisite in its aroma. It can also be used in the same types of dishes and products as lemon zest, but it gives a more subtle and strong aroma. It is removed in the same way as lemon. It is especially successfully used in compotes, jellies and for infusing vodka.

All types of zest should be dried by spreading them in a thin layer on a flat plate, spreading them with a white sheet of paper (not directly on porcelain or earthenware) for two to three days at room temperature, turning them over daily. The zest is considered ready when it becomes brittle.
All types of zest belong to “weak”, “soft” spices, so zest can be consumed in larger doses compared to other spices, that is, not in fractions of a gram, but in grams.
The measure of the norm in this case should be taste - the appearance of a bitter aftertaste when crossing the limit of the permissible volume.
Add the zest to all dishes in powdered (ground) form.
Notes:
13. The peel is used to make jam and marmalade.

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V.V. Pokhlebkin.:

2005.

Synonyms See what “Zest” is in other dictionaries:

Cedrat... Russian word stress

The top layer of lemon and orange peel, yellow in color, contains aromatic. volatile oil. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. Lemon zest or orange peel. A complete dictionary of foreign words... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

Few who use lemon in cooking know how good lemon zest is. Not everyone knows that it not only has a pleasant taste and aroma, but is also a storehouse of vitamins. can be used in baked goods and desserts, as well as in salads or hot dishes. The main thing is to know how to zest a lemon. Some useful tips and tricks we will look at in the article.

Lemon zest

What it is? This question may be asked by many inexperienced young housewives. The zest is actually a thin layer of citrus skin. The white pulp, which is located under the skin, is no longer considered zest and is not used in cooking because it is bitter. You can find ready-made lemon zest in grocery stores, but it is better to prepare it yourself, especially since there is absolutely nothing complicated about it.

How to prepare the zest?

For those who have no idea about lemon zest, the photographs will help you understand how to prepare it. To do this, you just need a fine grater or coffee grinder and you should rinse thoroughly, remove stickers, if any, and then scald with boiling water. This is necessary so that the zest comes off better. Then the skin is cut off in a thin layer and left to dry. When it dries and becomes brittle, it needs to be ground into powder (the easiest way to do this is with a blender or coffee grinder). This zest can be stored in a jar for quite a long time and used as needed. However, fresh zest is also added to baked goods. To do this, use a grater to carefully remove the top layer from the lemon and add the resulting shavings to the dough. To make the zest easier to remove, you can hold the lemon in a freezer. But you also need to understand when lemon zest is used that it is not only an amazing aroma and exquisite taste, but also an undoubted benefit to the body.

Beneficial features

Lemon zest has a whole range of beneficial properties and has a beneficial effect on the human body. It helps maintain a healthy skeletal system as it contains large amounts of calcium and vitamin C. In addition, the zest helps prevent diseases such as arthritis or rheumatism. Being a source of bioflavonoids, lemon peel helps remove various toxic substances from the body, which are extremely harmful because they increase the likelihood of developing alcohol addiction and overeating. An equally interesting, but not particularly well-known fact about lemon zest is the possibility of its use for the prevention of cancer. The zest also lowers cholesterol levels, improves heart function, normalizes blood pressure, and prevents the development of diabetes.

Lemon zest can be used as an additional aid to maintain oral hygiene and health as it helps combat bleeding gums. And that's not all amazing properties lemon zest. It helps to lose weight, helps cleanse the liver and fight swelling. Therefore, to the question: “Lemon zest - what is it?” we can safely answer that this is not only an indispensable ingredient for many dishes, but also an excellent remedy that can be used to heal and strengthen the body.

Surprisingly, many products that we usually throw in the trash can be useful in the household and even provide health benefits. This includes orange zest and grapefruit zest and zest of tangerines, kumquats and other citrus fruits. Such cleanings are used in cooking, they are actively used by specialists traditional medicine and even gardeners. Let's talk about what orange zest can give us, what it is, let's look at recipes made from orange zest, and also what beneficial features and it has contraindications.

What is orange zest?

Orange zest refers to the outermost layer of the peel, which has an attractive bright color. This product is a source of a lot of useful substances, including vitamins and essential oils. Remove the zest with a sharp knife or grate the fruit, scalded with boiling water. In the everyday understanding, of course, the zest is generally the entire peel, which, as a rule, is thrown away when peeling the fruit. few people do now.

Orange zest - benefits and harms

Benefits of orange zest

The top layer of the peel of this fruit contains a lot of vitamin C, it contains, and - B1 and B2. The zest is also a source of essential oil, calcium and phosphorus. It contains quite a lot of pectin and citric acid, as well as natural antibacterial substances - phytoncides.

There is evidence that orange zest is a wonderful cure for atherosclerosis. This substance cleanses blood vessels from... This product improves your mood quite well, which is why it is recommended to use it for preparing many dishes.

Orange zest has a positive effect on metabolic processes in the body. Its consumption helps improve digestive processes and avoid heartburn. Consumption of such a product helps eliminate nausea and increase vigor.

Powder obtained from orange peel helps dissolve mucus in the respiratory tract. It can be used to treat cough and asthma.

Essential oils Orange peels have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Its consumption allows you to optimize the acidity of gastric juice and normalize the processes occurring in the intestines. Also, the use of this product helps relieve and cleanse the liver.

Eating orange peel helps fight obesity. This product is also quite good.

The aroma of orange zest has a good calming effect, helps to relax, eliminate insomnia, etc.

This product is widely used for skin care. It helps eliminate excessive activity of the sebaceous glands, get rid of acne and dead skin particles. Orange zest has a pronounced anti-inflammatory and antifungal effect. It copes with rashes and promotes wound healing.

Is orange zest dangerous? Is it possible to cause harm?

Orange zest can cause allergic reactions. You should not get carried away with it if you suffer from excessive acidity of digestive juice, stomach or duodenal ulcers and intestinal disorders. Do not use this product in excessive quantities or at reduced pressure.

Recipes with orange zest

Pie with orange zest in a slow cooker

To prepare such a delicious dish you need to prepare four, a glass, one and a half glasses of flour, a couple of teaspoons of orange zest. In addition, you will need a couple of oranges, half a bag of baking powder (one teaspoon). You can use a couple to decorate the pie.

Mix all the ingredients together. Place them in the multicooker, greasing its bowl. Cover the container with a lid and set the baking mode for one hour and twenty minutes. Turn the pie out onto a plate and garnish with kiwi slices.

Homemade cookies with orange zest

To prepare a simple homemade cookies you need to prepare one hundred grams of cold, one hundred and twenty-five grams of flour (and a little more for deboning), one yolk and zest, removed from half.

Cut the butter into cubes, add the yolk with powdered sugar. Pour the grated zest into the container. Mix all ingredients with a fork until smooth. Sift the flour and mix with the prepared butter mixture. Knead the elastic dough, wrap it in cling film and put it in the freezer for five to seven minutes or in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Roll out the dough well into a three-centimeter layer. Cut out the cookies and place them on a baking sheet, lining it with parchment.
Place the cookies in the oven, preheated to one hundred and eighty degrees, for ten minutes.

How to make orange jam with zest?

To prepare such a dish, you need to prepare three medium oranges, one small one, half a liter of water and four hundred and fifty grams of sugar.

Prepare the oranges: wash them, cut off the thinner zest. Grind it into thin strips. Peel the oranges from the white skin, remove the white films so that only the pulp remains. Weigh the pulp and zest and place them in a saucepan.

Process the lemon in the same way: remove the zest and extract the lemon pulp. Weigh it.

Fill the prepared fruits with water, maintaining a 1:1 ratio. Leave it for a day.
Drain the water and place the citruses in a sieve. Pour an equal amount of sugar into them. Boil over low heat for fifteen to thirty minutes and cool.

Additional Information

Orange peel has many medicinal qualities and is widely used for therapeutic purposes.

Licorice zest and root for stomach ulcers. Thus, traditional medicine specialists advise using this raw material to prepare a medicine for peptic ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract. For this purpose, you need to prepare six grams of orange zest and ten grams of licorice root. Brew this mixture with half a glass of water and place on low heat. Boil until the volume of the medicine is reduced by half. Cool the finished product, mix sixty grams of honey into it. Take the resulting composition in three doses throughout the day. The duration of such treatment is one month.

Medicine for uterine bleeding. To stop uterine bleeding, traditional medicine experts advise taking the following decoction. Peel six to seven oranges, brew the resulting peel with one and a half liters of water and simmer until the volume of liquid is reduced by half. Sweeten the finished medicine and take four teaspoons three times a day.

Oranges for sore throat, stomatitis, pharyngitis and laryngitis. Simply chewing an orange peel also provides great health benefits. This procedure will help improve breathing, cure stomatitis, sore throat, pharyngitis, laryngitis, etc. This product helps stimulate appetite.

Stress-relieving baths. Baths with orange zest have a good tonic effect and help get rid of stress. To carry out this procedure at home, grind the dried zest from three oranges to a powder. Mix it with some olive oil and leave for an hour. Then pour the aromatic oil into the prepared bath.

Zest and licorice for heartburn. Traditional medicine experts advise using orange zest to treat heartburn. To achieve a therapeutic effect, you need to combine a teaspoon of such raw materials and mix it with a tablespoon of licorice roots. Brew this raw material with half a liter of water. Place the container with the product on the fire, evaporate the medicine to half, cool slightly and strain. Sweeten with honey and stir. Take in small quantities three times a day a quarter of an hour before meals. The duration of such therapy is one month.

Orange zest is amazing useful product. It can be used to prepare various delicious dishes and for the treatment of many pathological conditions.

Citrus peels have antibacterial properties, making them great for home cleaning products. The high citric acid content kills bacteria and mold, and also removes soap scum and mineral deposits.

1. No stains

Add lemon peels to the dishwasher and soap streaks will no longer appear on your glasses and glass plates.

2. Citrus vinegar

Place citrus peels in a jar, pour vinegar over them, close and leave for a week. After this, pour the resulting citrus vinegar into a spray bottle and use it as an all-purpose cleaner.

3. Clean the coffee pot

To quickly clean coffee stains, add orange peels, a cup or two of ice water, and a few tablespoons of salt to the coffee pot. After this, close and shake in a circular motion.

4. Mineral deposits

To clean mineral deposits in the bathroom, sprinkle some salt on orange or lemon peel and use it as a scrub on shower walls and doors.

5. Clean the cutting board

To disinfect the board on which you cut food, sprinkle a little salt on it and wipe it with citrus peel. After this, wash the board and wipe dry.

Cooking with citrus peels

6. Save the peels

Many recipes call for zest, so why not save it for easy cooking later? You can zest a few lemons and freeze them in an ice cube tray. Each cube will contain about two tablespoons of zest, so it will be convenient to use.

7. Dried zest

You can dry the peels in the oven and then store them in a jar, or grind them into powder and add them to smoothies and homemade vitamin mixtures.

8. Citrus flavoring

You can dry lemon peels, grind them into powder, mix with salt and black pepper, and use them as a savory seasoning.

9. Fragrant tea

If you add dried orange peels to the tea leaves, the tea acquires a pleasant citrus aroma.

Other uses of citrus peels

10. Home freshener

Take the peels of two oranges, 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, a spoon of ground cloves and 3 cinnamon sticks. Fill a saucepan with water and two tablespoons of vinegar, add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and cook until the mixture starts to become fragrant. The advantages of such a natural air freshener are obvious: it is cheap, natural and helps not only to distribute a pleasant aroma, but also to humidify the air. Here are more options.

11. Orange candle

To do this you will need an orange, olive oil and a knife. You remove the skin from the orange, the main thing is not to damage its “tail”, because it will be the wick. Then pour oil inside the crust, saturate the wick well with oil and set it on fire.

You will need ¾ cup granulated sugar, 4 tablespoons almond butter, 1 spoon olive oil and the peel of one orange. Grate the orange peels on a very fine grater, mix them with sugar, and then add oil. The resulting mixture can be used as a natural body scrub.

13. Orange bath oil

To make orange oil, you will need 20 orange peels, vodka and a jar with a tight-fitting lid.

• Peel the oranges, dry the peels and grind them into a smooth dry paste.
• Place the ground peels in a jar and fill with vodka so that it completely covers the peels.
• Close the jar tightly and leave for three days in a sunny place.
• Strain the mixture, discard the orange peels, and leave the liquid in a bowl to allow the alcohol to dissipate (about 12 hours).
• You should have about 30 grams of orange oil left, which can be added to your bath, cosmetics (be careful with the amount!) and aromatherapy lamps.