How to Dry & Use Lemon Peel

If you haven’t tried my Easy Peasy Lemonade Recipe run right over here and give this recipe a try. It’s SO refreshing. But before you run over there for the recipe, read this post. You’ll know what to do with all those AMAZING lemon peels. That’s right, no way I’m letting all that deliciousness go to the compost heap. Lemon pepper anyone? See where I’m going here?

I find it easier to peel the lemon whole. Too hard to cut the lemon and then peel but for those of you that want to do it that way anyway… wear safety glasses ~ you’re bound to get a well aimed squirt right in the eye. Not that I would know about that *Ahem.

Wash your lemons to remove dust and dirt. I use organic lemons since you just can’t wash pesticide out of a peel. Then using your vegetable peeler, peel the skin off your lemons. Try to avoid peeling off the white stuff (the pith,) since it is more bitter in flavor. Once you’re done peeling, place your peels on the racks of your dehydrator. Dry them for several hours on the low setting. Mine took about ten hours. You’ll want them to snap not bend. If they bend continue drying.

Grind in a spice grinder (I have a coffee grinder that is only used for grinding herbs and spices). You can also use a blender to get the same effect. Store in a Mason jar in the fridge.

Now the real fun starts! Yes, I’m weird like that. This is my fun! Here are a few things I do with my lemon peels:

Add to drinks or water as a whole peel but better yet: Grind!

Now that you’ve ground your peels, the sky is the limit.

For those of you that want to substitute lemon peel for lemon zest here is a rule of thumb: One lemon yields about 1 tablespoon lemon zest, so if a recipe calls for one lemon zested, use 1 teaspoon dried peel instead.

Try adding some to your next oil and vinegar salad dressing! What about a sprinkle in your favorite sugar cookie recipe? As a matter of fact why not toss into some rice or your next platter of roasted veggies? You can sprinkle into soups or salads. Try a dash on some of your homemade croutons.

I like to use some ground lemon peel with rosemary in my homemade bread.

How about some lemon pepper? Take a tablespoon each of ground lemon peel and pepper then add a teaspoon of salt. Sprinkle over a whole chicken before roasting. What about some on seafood? Yum. Are you feeling the savings?

You can see there are so many ways to use something that you were just going to throw away! Beats a squirt in the eye any day. Now, go grab that lemonade recipe!

Have you made your own spices before?

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