Herb info 01/2017: Citrus peel.

Mandarin oranges, tangerines, clementines and similar small and sweet citruses are very easy to peel and very tasty in various tea blends.

They are:
• aromatic, which means they're warming and drying
• bitter, which means they're cooling and drying.

The white part of the peel is bitter, the coloured part is aromatic.

You can use the peel from any organically grown citrus fruit, but lemon, orange, and grapefruit peels are more bitter and less tasty than those of the sweet easily peeled varieties.

They're in season in December and January, so buy enough to last you for the whole year. Spread your clean peels in a clean spot on paper towels. Once the peels are thoroughly dried you can wrap them in a piece of cloth and crush them. Pour the peel pieces into a glass jar and add a label: "Organic mandarin orange peel, January 2018".

I like to add citrus peels to digestive and cough blends. You could use them in infused oils as well; the resulting oil will be locally warming.

Or make yourself a nice cup of tea with a mix of black tea, elder flowers and mandarin peel. Yum!

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