citrus salt

Citrus salt emerged in my kitchen as an unexpected gift through mindfulness.

Last week, all of a sudden, I got chills and my bones started aching. So, I decided to fight this approaching cold and made myself a hot lemonade with honey and a pinch of chili to help warm my body from the inside out.  I checked my fridge: I had lemon, lime and oranges. Great! I was mindful of each step: boiling the water in the kettle, taking out the cutting board, knife and citrus juicer, and enjoying the warm water running over my hands while I washed the fruits.

Mindfully recognize the differences of citrus aromas

Cutting the fruits I recognized their wonderful differences of aroma. Now I was curious to recognize and define the differences of each citrus fruit’s fragrance. There was the lemon with its crisp clear freshness, the green lime with a compelling slightly bitter and sweet green undertone and the orange with its sweet, bright, uplifting tenderness. What a surprising gift! Then I recognized that this composition of fragrances had immediately lifted my mood and made me smile.

How to preserve these wonderful aromas?

Usually, after juicing I just throw away the peels and continue to make my lemonade. But today I wondered, how can I preserve this great gift of these wonderful refreshing and mood lifting aromas for myself and also share it with my friends? Well, I realized, the best way to preserve it is by making citrus salt! Easy! I already felt so much better and after I had finished my hot lemonade, I took my Microplane zester-grater and harvested the zest from the lemon, lime and orange.

Just by paying attention and being mindful, this “peel waste” did not end up in the trash but instead turned into a precious commodity. Citrus salt became an important staple in my kitchen. Not only that, it has also become a gift that I give to my friends, which they tell me they treasure!

It felt so good to make the best use of all the gifts that these fruits provide.

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citrus salt

Course gift from my kitchen, seasonings

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword citrus salt

Prep Time 30 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 zest of one organic orange
• 1 zest of one organic lemon
• 1 zest of one organic lime
• 1 cup Fleur de Sel I love Fleur de Sel. It is rich in minerals and tastes fresh like the ocean. But you also can use any other coarse salt
• 1 pinch of mindfulness to fully enjoying the uplifting scent of the fruits

Instructions

1. Wash the fruit in hot water with a few drops of mild organic soap (like Dr. Bronner's) rinse with clear water and rub them dry with a dish towel to make sure you get off all the wax that the fruits often are preserved.

   
2. With a Microplane grater mindfully harvest the zest from each fruit while enjoying the uplifting aroma oils.
   

3. In a glass or porcelain bowl mix the salt and the zest of the orange, lemon and lime thoroughly and let it dry in the bowl for about 1-2 days while stirring it once in a while enjoying the wonderful scent of the citrus fruits filling your kitchen.

   

4. After the zest and salt is dry, grind it briefly in your blender or food processor until you have a fine blend of the seasoned salt. Let it settle for a moment before you open the lid not to inhale the salt dust.

5. Fill the seasoned salt in a glass jar to keep it dry. 

   

Recipe Notes

preparing 30 min; drying time 1-2 days;

Where to use it:

Use this salt for all kinds of vegetables, tomatoes, avocados, salads, or over cooked or fried eggs.

One more option: make citrus sugar!

You can use the same amount of citrus peel but instead add 1 Cup of cane sugar to make citrus sugar. This adds citrus aroma to your baking goods, and you can sprinkle it on top of butter cookies, or zest up your deserts  

Gifts from the kitchen

Citrus salt and citrus sugar are both wonderful gifts from your kitchen to your foodie friends. I always have some extra spice jars that I re-use / re-purpose. Fill the citrus salt/-sugar in the spice jar, create a lovely label and wrap it! Voilà!