Don't Toss Those Lemon Rinds - Use Them To Steep Tea For Extra-Bold Flavor - Tasting Table

Tea and lemon have long been paired in Europe and Russia. Lemon flavor can be added to freshly brewed tea without commercial lemon-infused products by using a lemon rind. After slicing a lemon, reserve the largely juiceless half and scoop out the pulp to leave a bowl-like rind. Poke small holes in the rind, balance it over a mug or teacup, and add a spoonful of loose-leaf tea. Slowly pour boiling water over the setup without overflowing. The water passes through the tea and drips into the cup, producing lemon-flavored tea. Lemon peels can also be used in other ways beyond hot tea.

"Whether your lemon half has been squeezed or not, scoop out the pulp with a spoon, leaving you with a bowl-like rind. Poke holes in the rind with a skewer, cocktail stick, or some other tool capable of puncturing small holes. Balance this over a mug or teacup with an appropriately sized brim (too wide, and the rind will fall in), and add a spoonful of your preferred loose-leaf tea. Slowly pour boiling water over the tea, being careful not to let it overflow. The tea that drips down into your cup will have an exquisite lemon flavor."

"Tea and lemon are a classic and enduringly popular combination. Western tea drinkers have been enjoying it since tea was first brought to Europe, though Russia had been pairing tea with lemon long before. When we think of tea and lemon, we might summon images of traditional English breakfast tea with a slice of lemon floating in the teacup itself, or more modern teabags with the flavor of lemon already infused."

"But there is another way of getting the unmistakable, zesty taste of lemon into a steaming cup of freshly brewed tea, and it has the advantage of being thrifty: By using a lemon rind to decant loose-leaf tea. Imagine you sliced a lemon in half for some other purpose - perhaps you've just prepared a vinaigrette for salad, or squeezed some fresh lemon juice onto some crispy homemade chicken tenders - and so you are left with one largely juiceless half of a lemon."

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