clementine peel and vanilla vodka
When buying citrus fruits I have gotten into the habit of buying mostly organic, that way you can also use the peel. It is just a shame to throw away one of the best parts of the fruit because it has been waxed or sprayed with pesticides. When in season I buy clementines as a mid-afternoon snack from the organic store near my work place. Sometimes I have to remind myself when I peel them that I shouldn’t discard the flavourful skin. It happens too easily in the midst of a busy workday. They can be left to dry and used for a variety of things: spice blends or tea or example. You can also flavour a liquor with it. In that case you don’t even need to dry them. Pack up those peels and pass by the liquor store on your way home from work. You are allowed a glug of the vodka for a post-work tipple. The rest however should go into a jar with the clementine peels.
Get a little creative. What works with orange mostly works with clementines as well. Vanilla is a good pairing, also lavender or coriander or maybe even some fennel seeds. I had a vanilla pod leftover where I have scraped out the seeds. Mostly I put the empty pods into a jar of sugar to make vanilla sugar. I am not giving exact quantities here, you can use whatever you have on hand. If you have the peel of only one clementine, that’s fine. You can make a smaller batch if you like. I am giving the quantities of the batch I made here.
Clementine peel and vanilla vodka
1 bottle of vodka (0.7 litres)
peel of three clementines
1 vanilla pod, split
Put the peel into a jar for which you have a lid. Make sure you have removed any lose bits of pith from the peels. You don’t want to have any floaters on top. Add the vanila pod and press down slightly, so it doesn’t float up when you pour in the vodka. Add the vodka. Keep submerged ideally with a pickling weight. I have some glass pickling weights as shown in the picture. You can also place a smaller jar inside that will prevent the peels from floating up. Keep in a cool dark place for a month. Serve ice cold in chilled shot glasses or use in cocktails.
