I really appreciate all of you sticking with me through this difficult time. Being up to one’s knees in navels is no joke, and your kind words kept me going (along with all the wonderful Vitamin C I was consuming!). Rounds 1 and 2 are over, and here is the final chapter to this tangelo trilogy.

I am a big fan of the blog 101 Cookbooks, and am consistently inspired by Heidi Swanson’s photography and recipes. You may imagine my surprise and delight when she recently posted that she had a glut of winter citrus, and was also looking for creative ways to be rid of it. She posted a quick and easy method for citrus salts, and I had my oven preheating and microplane ready in an instant.

In a little over an hour my salts were ready and my kitchen smelled amazing. The bright zing of the zest had mellowed into an intoxicating orange haze that lingered around my house for a few hours. So much cooler than the incense sticks I used to buy at the mall. I used Maldon salt, as Heidi recommended, which is larger and flakier than kosher salt and has a great flavor all its own. You can give the finished product a quick whir in the food processor if you like a finer salt, or you can leave it as is. I walked the line between the two and gave it a few satisfying crunches with my mortar and pestle.
xo, Holly (The Apiarist)

Citrus Salt
Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks
Heidi listed some lovely ways to use these finishing salts such as on top of curries, green vegetables and homemade caramels. I plan to sprinkle some on top of  softened unsalted butter and use as a spread on rolls and breads. Enjoy!

1/2 cup flaky salt
1-2 tablespoons orange zest (or whatever citrus you have lying around)

Preheat over to 225 degrees F. Combine salt and zest in a bowl and mix well. Spread mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet in a thin layer, and bake for about 70 minutes. The zest should be quite dried out at this point. Give the citrus salt a ride in the food processor if you like, or enjoy as is.