Q: Having been a coffee drinker most of my life, I've recently begun to explore (and enjoy) tea. Many well-meaning friends and family have given me gifts of tea, which I appreciate, but I now find myself with a particularly large stash of loose leaf green tea.
My question is: Aside from drinking it until my teeth float, what else can I use loose leaf green tea for?
Sent by Stephanie
Editor: Well, you can make cocktails and ginger iced tea with it, but you can also use it to infuse custards and puddings, and it even goes into these cookies:
• Recipe: Basic American Biscotti With Fruit & Green Tea
Readers, what else would you suggest?
Related: How to Brew Loose Leaf Green Tea
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It's great in marinades!
Here are a few more ideas:
- blend into a dry spice rub (when I ate fish I used to make a peach-scented formosa oolong spice rub for halibut);
- infuse into cream - to combine with chopped chocolate - for truffles;
- add to brownies, cakes, quick breads or cookies (think green tea shortbread);
- brew and then blend into a smoothie (doesn't work as well with dry tea leaves);
- if you steep the tea briefly, so the flavor is light, it makes great ice cubes for iced tea;
- smoke meats, fish, cheese (you can even do that in a wok on your stovetop as long as you have a decent range fan);
- blend into unscented lotions (suggest you do an allergy scratch test first)
In non food uses, it makes a great hair rinse. Just make tea as usual, let it cool, then pour it over your hair. You can leave it in or rinse it out under warm running water (after sitting for a minute).
Take brewed tea leaves and add them to the cooking water the next time you make rice. It's especially good with jasmine rice. It adds a wonderful texture and flavor (without caffeine). I keep a small ziploc bag in the freezer to hold loose tea leaves esp. for this purpose.
Chocolate and Green Tea Tofu Pudding!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000156.html
Vodka infusion.
My husband makes an amazing meal from a generic Japanese cookbook we have. I think the dish is called Chazuke. I'm not the cook, so my description may not be perfect, but he crusts salmon with coarse salt and broils it. He makes up some rice and some green tea. Put some rice in a bowl, break in some bits of the salmon (after knocking the salt off), cut some dried nori strips on top, then fill the bowl with green tea. Top off with a touch of soy sauce. We've made this dinner for many people, including some very picky eaters, and everyone has loved it.
tjean, that sounds amazing