How is lemon peel good for your health? Zest: orange and lemon. Candied and Dried Citrus Peel

20.09.2019 Meat Dishes

Our poor ancestors could remove the valuable skin from a lemon with only a stone knife. We are more fortunate because we can use a variety of kitchen appliances that can easily do the job for us. We can even use a tool for processing wood that the cook has adopted - a special Microplane grater. Use a regular grater or vegetable peeler, or if you want to know how our great-grandfathers felt in the savannah, removing the zest from a lemon, take a small fruit knife.

Steps

Removing the zest with a regular or Microplane grater

Rinse the lemon. Washing the fruit is especially important if you plan on consuming the peel in the future. Rub the lemon thoroughly and vigorously with your hands or a clean sponge and hot, soapy water.

Lay out the necessary supplies on a cutting board. The Microplane grater produces a thin rind that is ideal for baking and preparing a variety of dishes. If you don't have one, use a regular grater with the smallest holes. Place the grater as follows:

Microplane or regular grater: Hold the grater with the handle facing you, with the end of the grater at a 45 ° angle to the cutting board. If a flat grater is not stable, rub the zest over a bowl, pressing it against the edge of the bowl.
Multi-sided grater: Place the grater on a cutting board so that the side of the grater with the smallest holes is facing your hand holding the lemon. Press down on the grater handle to prevent it from sliding over the surface.

Rub only the yellow part of the peel. Gently rub only the yellow part of the peel, do not touch the bitter white part. Many graters achieve this result from the first movement. Be careful, especially if you are not using a Microplane float.
- A normal grater can only rub in one direction, the Microplane grater allows you to rub the zest in an up and down motion. But the easiest way is to run the lemon down on a grater, then set aside the lemon and return it to the top position again.
Turn the lemon over and repeat the process. Once the white portion of the rind is visible, rotate the lemon and peel the zest from the next portion of the rind. Repeat until you have removed as much zest as needed to prepare the recipe of your choice.
- Do not peel the zest from the very tips of the lemon, even if there is a yellow rind.
Removing the zest with a cocktail zester

Removing the zest with a vegetable peeler
1. Wash the lemon. As usual, wash the fruit thoroughly with soap and water. You will be eating the peel, so the presence of pests and pesticides on it is not acceptable.
  
  Prepare the zest. A vegetable peeler is not ideal for making zest, but if you have no other choice, use it. Gently and slowly pull the peeler along the surface of the rind. Try not to grab the white part of the lemon peel. After you remove the peel strip, grind it as much as possible to create a real zest.
  - The zest obtained in this way will be less flavorful than if you grated it on a regular grater or on a Microplane grater. You may get more zest this way, but keep in mind that the pieces will be more visible and less attractive.
2. Make lemon cocktail spirals. Remove the short and wide strip of zest as described above. Hold the zest strip with the peel towards the drink and twirl it with your thumb and forefinger to release the lemon oil directly into the drink. Rub the strip over the edge of the glass to make the drink appear even more flavorful, then dip the spiral directly into the cocktail.

Lemon is a real storehouse of useful components and vitamins. However, its wealth is not only in the healing properties that the juicy pulp carries. The dense, bright peel, called lemon zest, should also be actively used in folk medicine, cosmetology, and cooking.

Lemon zest - features of preparation and storage

Lemon is a special product, because its upper part - the skin - is saturated with essential oils, which are perfectly preserved when dried.

Important! The zest is just the top layer of the peel that is colored!

To get lemon zest, the fruit is thoroughly washed (preferably with a brush), after which it is doused with boiling water for the purpose of more reliable disinfection. After that, you need a kitchen knife or grater.

To cut the lemon peel, you need a sharp knife, because only a thin layer is removed from the fruit. The zest is obtained by rubbing the cut peel with a grater, and you need to make sure that the exclusively yellow layer of the peel is erased, otherwise the dish will turn out to be bitter.

After that, the resulting mass is dried and placed in a glass or metal container under a tight lid. It is recommended to choose a place that is isolated from moisture for storing the product. The zest can be frozen. To do this, the peel is placed in a freezer for a couple of hours, after which it is taken out and grated.

Useful properties of lemon peel

The chemical composition of lemon peel is quite varied. Saturation in fiber, fat, vitamins, minerals and flavonoids makes the zest extremely healthy.

It is allowed to use the zest in any form, the main thing is to do it systematically and not overdo it with the quantity. If you approach the issue intelligently, noticeable improvements can be noted soon.

Why is lemon peel so useful?

helps prevent bone diseases;
is able to prevent the development of thrombosis;
calms the nervous system;
improves appetite;
has an effect on blood vessels, increasing their elasticity;
helps to cleanse the body of toxins and other harmful deposits;
components of the peel enhance the properties of the immune system;
are able to stop a sore throat;
normalize blood flow, cleanse the liver;
has a therapeutic effect on fungal pathologies.

It has a positive effect on the digestion process. All this is due to the presence of dietary fiber, noted in the composition of the lemon peel. This component enhances intestinal motility, promotes the elimination of waste, relieves gas and spasms in the intestinal tract.

The healing properties with which the zest is endowed made it in demand in folk medicine for the treatment of gastric disorders, the elimination of colic, with vomiting, dyspepsia. A unique product is able to get rid of putrefactive bacteria in the mouth and intestines, thereby eliminating bad breath and improving digestion.

Lemon peel has anti-cancer properties. Due to the content of flavonoids, the zest is able to block the spread of cancer cells. And the substance limomnen is endowed with antitumor properties. Research by scientists has shown that those people who eat lemon slices without peeling off the peel are much less likely to encounter the development of malignant tumors in the lungs, colon and mammary gland. And a special easily digestible substance pectin has a slowing down effect on the development of skin and prostate cancer.

Oral hygiene. In order not to face some gum pathologies (gingivitis, bleeding, etc.), you need to enrich your menu with vitamin C, which is found in large quantities in lemon peel. Also, the merit of this vitamin lies in its active fight against bacteria that provoke the appearance of caries and periodontitis.

Lemon peel is also used for weight loss. Lemon peels contain pectin, which slows down the absorption of carbohydrates. Thus, the fight against extra pounds is carried out. This component provides a long-lasting feeling of fullness, and the cravings for sweets disappear.

Thanks to lemon zest, the work of the heart muscle is optimized, and this leads to a decrease in the likelihood of developing cardiovascular diseases.

The bioflavonoids present in lemon peel are active antioxidants that can prevent oxidative stress. Under their influence, the body gets rid of free radicals that provoke mutations in cells, as a result of which premature aging, cancers and pathologies of the cardiovascular system occur.

In addition to the undeniable benefits, lemon peel can be harmful. First of all, people with peptic ulcer disease should be careful.

It is important to remember that excessive consumption of citrus fruits can provoke an allergic reaction.

If the throat is severely sore, then you should refrain from drinking lemon, as you can get a burn of the larynx.

With increased acidity, the consumption of zest must be excluded, otherwise heartburn will torment.

Lemon peel in cosmetics

Lemon zest is widely used in cosmetic procedures.

For those who do not know how to get rid of yellowed skin of the feet, it is worth using the zest, which is rubbed on the feet.

Lemon peel can solve the problem of overdried dermis in the elbow area. It is enough to rub the problem area with it and the issue will be resolved.

An excellent face and body scrub can be made with olive oil, sugar and grated lemon peel. After mixing all the ingredients, the composition is ready to use. This scrub perfectly moisturizes.

Anyone who makes soap at home on their own should take note of the fact that lemon peel is a good cosmetic supplement.

Lemon peels can help keep your home clean and smell good.

The benefits of lemon peel in everyday life

Lemon peel is actively used in everyday life. With its help, a number of problems can be eliminated.

Eliminate stains and grease. Lemon vinegar is excellent at removing all kinds of dirt. The grated peel is placed in a glass vessel and poured with vinegar, a lid is closed on top. After a couple of weeks, the infused mass is filtered and diluted with water in a 1: 1 ratio. As a result, it is possible to obtain a unique composition that can cleanse almost everything. In addition, the vinegar obtained from the zest is endowed with excellent disinfecting properties.
Getting rid of the fridge from an unpleasant smell. If you put lemon peels in the refrigerator, then you can forget about the unpleasant smell.
Helps fight insect pests. Uninvited guests in the apartment - ants, fleas, moths, cockroaches - cannot stand the citrus smell. To combat them, you can try to place zest at doors, window sills, cracks.
Removal of lime deposits. Faucets and other chrome-plated surfaces often suffer from lime deposits, which cause a lot of trouble for housewives. The stone will disappear if you rub them with a lemon peel.
For cleaning brass, copper and stainless steel, sea salt is mixed with zest, this compound is used to wipe the contaminated area, after which everything is washed off.
The zest easily removes coffee and tea stains on cups and glasses. To eliminate the problem, the crushed peel is applied to the problem area and moistened with water. The cup is left for several hours, after which it is wiped off with a cloth. There will be no trace of stains.
Cleaning the microwave with zest is an interesting find. The whole process boils down to the following: the peel is laid out in a bowl of water and placed in the microwave for 5 minutes. While the water is boiling, steam will fill the inside of the appliance. After that, the bowl is taken out, and the microwave is wiped off.

Lemon peel is a unique product that has found application in cooking and everyday life. A useful component is able to enrich the human body with useful substances, vitamins and microelements.

Video: 8 Ways to Use Lemon

We mindlessly throw away many parts of foods that may still benefit our body. Various purifications are just such substances, including citrus peel. This and zest of lemon and zest and zest of grapefruit. This product is a source of a lot of useful substances, it is often used in cooking and folk medicine. The topic of our conversation today will be lemon zest, what is it, let's talk, discuss recipes with lemon zest, and answer the question, what are its beneficial properties and contraindications.

What is Lemon Peel?

Lemon peel is the topmost layer of the peel, it has a pronounced bright color and contains a lot of essential oils and other useful substances.

To obtain such a product, the fruit is scalded with boiling water, and the zest is cut off with an extremely sharp knife, like a spiral tape. You can also grate it.

Lemon zest - benefits and harms

The benefits of lemon peel

Lemon peel is rich in fiber, potassium, carotene, magnesium, calcium, folate and beta-carotene.

Such a product can be used to prevent osteoporosis, as well as to eliminate the inflammatory process caused by. There is evidence that lemon peel perfectly removes various toxins and carcinogens from the body.

The systematic inclusion of zest in the diet allows to slow down the growth of oncological lesions by an order of magnitude. Also, this product has pronounced antibacterial properties. Traditional medicine specialists use lemon peel to eliminate bacterial and fungal ailments, treat anemia and prevent thrombosis.

Lemon peel contains a mass, which makes it useful for immunity and for the prevention of respiratory ailments. This product is a source of vitamin P, which protects blood vessels from fragility and has a positive effect on heart health.

Lemon peel essential oils improve mood and have a good tonic effect. Simply chewing such a substance will help to cope with sore throat. Also, lemon peel is not bad, it improves blood circulation, neutralizes ear infections, prevents varicose veins and adds elasticity to blood vessels.

Is lemon peel dangerous, what harm is there?

Lemon peel can be harmful to patients suffering from indigestion. You should not use it if you have been diagnosed with an ulcer, gastritis or enteritis. Also, this substance often provokes allergic reactions.

Of course, excessive consumption of zest can also be harmful. Overeating is fraught with the development of heartburn or nausea.

Lemon zest recipes

How to make a cupcake with lemon zest (recipe)

To prepare such a delicious dish, you need to prepare one hundred and fifty grams of refined, two hundred grams, two hundred grams of powdered sugar, four tablespoons and four chicken eggs. Also, use one hundred and fifty grams of sour cream, a couple tablespoons of baking powder, and a teaspoon of lemon zest.

To soak the cake, you will need three tablespoons of powdered sugar and three tablespoons of lemon juice.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs with the powdered sugar. Stir best with a whisk. Add sour cream, zest, and lemon juice to a bowl. Pour in vegetable oil there and mix well until smooth. Add flour and baking powder to the resulting mass. Whisk until smooth. Pour the finished dough into the prepared mold. Send it to the oven, preheated to one hundred seventy to one hundred and eighty degrees, and bake a pie with lemon zest for forty to forty-five minutes. A cupcake for tea with lemon zest should please you!

Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice. Apply this mixture to a hot cake, grease until the sweet liquid is completely gone. Remove the cooled cake from the mold and serve.

Freezer Lemon Yogurt Recipe

To prepare such a delicious dessert, you need to prepare three 4.5% vanilla yoghurts, sixty milliliters of lemon juice, seventy-five grams of sugar, 4-6 teaspoons of lemon zest and a glass.

Transfer the "yogurt" to a convenient plastic container and place in the freezer until freezing (just to grab). Take sugar (without a teaspoon), lemon juice and zest. Stir until sugar dissolves. Transfer the frozen yogurt to a blender and beat until soft. Pour the lemon and sugar into the blender bowl and beat again. Divide the resulting mass into bowls and send to the freezer for half an hour.

For the sauce, combine the raspberries with the remaining sugar in a blender until smooth. Leave it on for a quarter of an hour to let the juice stand out. Pour the prepared juice over the frozen yogurt and serve.

Roasting lamb in the oven in a sleeve with lemon zest

To prepare such a delicious dish, you need to prepare two and a half kilograms. Lamb meat marinade: a teaspoon, a quarter cup of honey, a couple of tablespoons of mustard, a couple of tablespoons of chopped rosemary (fresh), a teaspoon and the same amount of lemon zest, three cloves of garlic.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine honey with mustard, rosemary, black pepper, lemon zest and finely chopped garlic. Apply the prepared marinade to the meat. Place the lamb in the refrigerator overnight. Place the prepared meat in the oven, inserting it into the sleeve, preheated to two hundred and thirty degrees, sprinkle it with salt. Bake for twenty minutes, then reduce the temperature to two hundred degrees and bake for about an hour. Then let the lamb stand for ten minutes, cut it and serve.

Additional Information

Cooking lemon zest is possible not only for culinary purposes. Lemon zest, as well as the lemon itself, can be used to treat a wide variety of pathological conditions.

Prevention and treatment of vascular atherosclerosis... Traditional medicine experts advise grinding dry zest to a powder state. Such a remedy will help prevent and cure atherosclerosis. It should be taken one to three grams three times a day.

If you boil the lemon peel in sugar or honey until soft, such a remedy will help improve digestion in the stomach.

Alternative treatment of head pain... If you are worried about a severe headache, cut off the rind from the lemon as thin as possible, peel it from the remnants of the white skin and apply to the temple for a quarter of an hour.

To remove calluses on toes, feet... Also, the zest will help to cope with calluses on the feet. To achieve a lasting therapeutic effect, it is necessary to thoroughly steam the feet in hot water and wipe dry. Tie a lemon rind to the problem area. Perform this procedure several times (over several days), then steam your legs again and remove the corn.

Rheumatism of the joints folk treatment with lemon along with zest... To prepare the medicine, you need to prepare three lemons with peels and three peeled heads of garlic. Pass such raw materials through a meat grinder. Pour the prepared gruel with one liter of boiling water and let it brew for 24 hours. The filtered medicine must be taken in a quarter of a glass three times a day immediately before a meal.

For those who are looking for what they can increase blood pressure you can write yourself one more remedy. Tincture of lemon peel will help to cope with hypotension, which is accompanied by fainting. To prepare the drug, you need to grind one hundred grams of dry lemon peel and combine it with a liter of vodka. Insist for three weeks in a fairly dark place. Take twenty-five to thirty drops three times a day.

Inflammation of the mouth and tongue- treatment by chewing lemon peel. Including will help to cope with angina, stomatitis, pharyngitis, etc. In addition, this procedure perfectly freshens breath.

To remove a wart with vinegar and lemon peel... To do this, you need to remove it from two lemons, grind and pour half a glass of thirty percent vinegar. Insist for weeks in a glass container with a tightly closed lid. Strain the medicine, soak a cotton-gauze swab in it, and apply it to the wart area. Repeat the procedure several times a day.

Lemon peel is an amazingly healthy product that can help treat many ailments. And when used in cooking, this substance gives ready-made dishes an amazing aroma and taste.

Lemon peel is widely used in Western countries and Europe during cooking as an enhancer of the taste and smell of various cakes, cookies, pastries, pies and other confectionery products. It is also used to flavor various cocktails, jams and marmalades for a fresh citrus flavor. When adding lemon peel to food, it is important to know what effect it has on our body and its beneficial properties. This outer coating of lemon is best peeled off with a vegetable peeler, as this will not cut off the white rind, which has an unpleasant bitter taste and can ruin the flavor of your food.

Benefits of lemon peel

Despite the widespread use of lemon peel, not many of us are aware of the many beneficial properties of this product, including:

Colon Cancer Protection

The peels of citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges are known for their potent anti-cancer activity as they are rich in flavonoids, especially citrus polymethoxy flavones, which are effective in inhibiting tumor formation in the intestines. Lemon peel is rich in diosmin and hesperidin, which also prevent colon cancer.

Protection against prostate cancer

Research shows that a mixture containing lemon peel is effective in shrinking prostate tumors and preventing metastasis (the ability of cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body and develop there, affecting nearby organs and tissues), and also induces apoptosis (self-destruction of cells).

Protection against skin cancer

Lemon peel is rich in such a substance as limonene - a colorless substance present in the peel of citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges, etc. Limonene is found in large quantities in lemon essential oil, which is squeezed from its peel. It has been shown that limonene is able to protect the human body from the development of skin cancer.

Slimming lemon peel

While there are many Indian foods that promote weight loss, lemon peel is known to be rich in polyphenols, which can help fight extra pounds. Lemon peel is also known to help curb the accumulation of body fat and prevent hyperlipidemia (excess fat in the liver).

May improve insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is a condition in which cells in the body do not respond to the hormone insulin, resulting in an increase in blood sugar levels and a condition called prediabetes (pre-diabetes). Lemon peel is rich in polyphenols, which help in improving this condition by suppressing the accumulation of fat in the belly area.

Blood sugar control

Lemon peel is rich in flavonol glycosides such as naringin and hesperidin, both of which play an important role in preventing hyperglycemia. Its use helps to effectively control blood sugar levels by breaking down glucose in the liver, increasing the concentration of glycogen and reducing the formation of new glucose molecules in the liver. Along with lemon zest, there is another product with similar properties that can effectively help control blood sugar levels. It is called Amla or Indian gooseberry, which can also be used to keep diabetes under control.

Reduces the risk of developing heart disease

Lemon peels are also high in vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant. Vitamin C helps in eliminating free radicals from the body, thereby preventing damage to the walls of arteries and blood vessels caused by these highly reactive particles, thereby preventing the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease.

How to consume lemon peel

Lemon peel - candied lemon peels in sugar

Lemon peel can be added as a flavor-enhancing ingredient for cakes and pies. You can peel some lemon zest and add to the batter just before baking. You can also add lemon zest to your cake frosting for a pungent flavor.
Lemon peel can be consumed in a candied form, which will give you the opportunity to enjoy the special taste and aroma of this most useful product. Simply boil the lemon zest in a little hot water to reduce the bitterness and add it to another bowl of hot water and sugar. Simmer until the skin is soft. Sprinkle a little sugar on it and let it dry for a day or two. You can eat these candied lemon peels whenever you need to chew on something sweet, or you can add them to cottage cheese for a delicious curd mass.
Add dry lemon peel powder to your spice mix that you usually add to food. Alternatively, you can use this dry powder as a seasoning for fish and meat. To make lemon peel powder, dry the zest for two days or so, then grind it into a fine powder and store in a clean container.

Lemon peel is very beneficial for your health, and if consumed regularly, you can prevent the development of some of the diseases described above. It is also known that the use of this product brings great benefits to the hair and skin. The high vitamin C content in lemon and lemon peel can effectively fight many skin and hair problems, which you can learn about here -

Everyone knows about the beneficial properties of lemon and lemon juice. But few people know that the zest of this citrus fruit has great value for our health. Do not rush to throw away the lemon peel after you have squeezed out the juice - it can still serve your body a good service.

Here are some of the well-researched benefits of lemon zest:

1. The zest helps maintain healthy bones. It also contains a large amount of vitamin C, which help to strengthen bone tissue. The peel helps prevent the development of diseases such as osteoporosis, articular rheumatism, and multiple arthritis.

2. The zest helps to reduce the level of oxidative stress (damage to the body due to oxidative reactions uncharacteristic for its own metabolism) due to the high content of bioflavonoids (vitamin p).

3. The body contains toxic substances that not only weaken it from the inside, but also increase the likelihood of developing alcohol dependence and a tendency to overeat. Due to its high content of bioflavonoids, lemon peel helps to flush these toxic substances from the body.

4. Few people know that lemon peel is used to prevent and treat cancer. It contains the substances salvestrol Q40 and limonene, which help fight cancer cells.

5. Thanks to the content of polyphenols and flavonoids, the peel helps to reduce the level of cholesterol in the body, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart.

6. The potassium content is beneficial for heart health, helps prevent the development of diabetes and normalize blood pressure.

7. Lemon peel is an excellent product for maintaining oral health and hygiene. Vitamin C helps treat problems such as bleeding gums, scurvy and gingivitis. The zest is rich in citric acid, which compensates for the lack of vitamin C, allowing you to quickly get rid of these ailments.

8. The zest can help you lose weight. It contains a substance called pectin, which contributes to the acquisition of a slim figure.

9. The peel helps to maintain healthy skin and prevent the occurrence of problems such as premature wrinkles, acne, discoloration, etc. Free radicals play an important role in this process. In addition, the zest is rich in antioxidants, so it helps to neutralize toxic substances that enter the skin.

10. In addition to the above, the zest also has a whole set of useful properties: it cleanses the liver, helps with ear infections, improves blood circulation, weakens muscle contractions, prevents strokes, etc.

The best way to consume lemon zest:

Place the lemon in the freezer. When it freezes, grate the zest on a fine grater and add a little to salads, tea and any other food. Or you can sprinkle it with sugar and eat it as a dessert on its own.