When it comes to sweets, I have a surprising trick up my sleeve. And the best part about it? It probably won’t cost you a penny because most likely you already have it, but throw it in the trash.
I’m talking about orange zest, the thin outer skin of an orange. I don’t mean the white part, called the pith. That’s bitter. The zest is just the paper-thin layer of colored skin, which has tons of fragrant and flavorful oils. Those oils are perfect for tricking us into thinking something is sweeter than it really is. I use zest in cakes, muffins and cookie doughs, and to bring out the sweetness in root vegetables, such as roasted beets or carrot soup.
It’s easy to build a stock of this ingredient. Any time you grab an orange for a snack, take an extra minute to run a wand-style grater or vegetable peeler gently over the peel, being careful not to extract any of the pith. The zest can be saved either by freezing it in a small container or by drying.
To dry zest, place it in a 200 F oven, turn off the heat and let it sit undisturbed until the zest is dry, about 30 to 60 minutes. Let cool completely, then place the dried zest in a clean spice jar. Very quickly you’ll have a supply of flavor ready to go in either your pantry or freezer. Note that you may need to chop up larger pieces, and the zest will lose some potency as it ages, so just add a smidge extra when following recipes that call for fresh zest.