Citrus peels are loaded with delicious oils, and making Oleo Saccharum allows us to use that often lost goodness.
What is Oleo Saccharum?
Oleo Saccharum is a flavorful syrup made by letting citrus peels sit covered in sugar to extract the oils trapped inside, resulting in a sweet and concentrated fruity syrup perfect to use in cocktails.
It's been made for centuries as a citrusy base for drinks to get bright fruit flavors without much additional dilution.
And it's real easy to make!
Combine any citrus, sugar, a little patience and you're well on your way to some awesome cocktails.
How to Make Oleo Saccharum
Start by peeling your citrus into a bowl leaving behind the white just beneath the skin. That white pith has bitterness that you want to avoid.
NOTE: Be sure that your citrus is well washed after bringing it home.
Citrus gets handled a lot before going into your recipes so be sure to keep it clean especially when using the peels. If you can grab organic that's great too!
Next add granulated cane sugar and stir to fully coat the peels. The sugar pulls the oil out of the skin so the more contact you have between peels and sugar the better.
And then you wait...
Let the mixture sit for at least 6 hours or as long as overnight, and if possible, stir it once or twice to help dissolve the sugar.
You will then see liquid that's been pulled from the now drier looking peels.
Get as much Oleo as you can!
After resting, strain the liquid in the bowl into a clean bottle for storing.
But don't throw the peels out yet!
There is always a little leftover sugar and oil left. To get the rest of that goodness pour 2 tablespoons or so of boiling water onto the peels, stir, then strain again into your storage bottle.
This recipe will yield about 2/3 of a cup which isn't much, but they're peels you weren't going to use anyway and only a little goes in each drink.
What to do with your Oleo Saccharum
Use Oleo in place of simple syrup to add a citrusy kick to your favorite cocktail recipes. Keep in mind that it is sweet and can throw a drink out of whack if there is already other sweeteners
A 1/4 ounce of lemon Oleo Saccharum is delicious in an Old Fashioned instead of the usual simple syrup, and it also works as a kick-ass base for lemonade by adding fresh lemon juice and soda water.
Oh hell yeah!
Store Oleo Saccharum in the fridge for up to a month.
However, it's the best in the first week and can slowly lose it's vibrant citrus flavor over time.
To help improve it's fridge life add a tablespoon of Everclear or high proof vodka into the storage bottle.
Oleo Saccharum Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 grams Citrus Peels - 1 1/2 cups packed
- 150 grams Cane Sugar - 2/3 cup
- 30 grams Boiling Water - 2 Tbs
- 1 Tbs Everclear or High Proof Vodka - optional
Instructions
- Peel the citrus trying to avoid the bitter white part and place the peels into a clean bowl.
- Add the sugar onto the peels and stir to coat them.
- Let the mixture sit covered for at least 6 hours or overnight.
- Strain off the liquid into a bottle to store.
- Leave the peels in their original container (the liquid has been strained off) and pour boiling water over the peels to rinse remaining sugar and oils.
- Strain off liquid again into the same bottle as the first straining.
- Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Add a splash of neutral alcohol to help preserve if you'd like.
Notes
Share some Oleo!
Sub Oleo into any recipe that would benefit from a pop of citrus, for a real treat you can drizzle it onto ice cream.
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