Mandarin orange dust. It sounds absolutely magical – and it is! We love sprinkling this sweet, intensely-flavored powder on everything from oatmeal to roasted vegetables and ice cream.
We have Pen & Fork's Gwen Ashley Walters to thank for this enchanting idea (which she, in turn, picked up from Chef Becky Selengut). It involves nothing more than drying very thin slices of mandarin orange in an oven or dehydrator and then grinding them into a powder with a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. (We have also tried this with dried peels only but like the whole orange version better.) A little pinch of sugar and salt rounds out the flavor and cuts through any bitterness, but the dominant flavor is pure, vibrant orange.
The uses are limitless. After making our last batch of mandarin orange dust, we've been sprinkling it on our oatmeal every morning. The fragrant powder can also be used in marinades, vegetable dishes, baked goods, and sweets. Packed in an airtight container, it retains its flavor and fragrance for about a month in the refrigerator. Presumably one could also freeze it for longer.
Have you ever made mandarin orange or tangerine powder? How do you use it?
• Get the tutorial: Mandarin Orange Dust at Pen & Fork
Related: 5 Ways to Use Dried Citrus Peels
(Image: Emily Ho)
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I'm thinking that some of this would be awesome in some hot cocoa!
This is such a fantastic idea! This week, I have a few more clementines than I can eat, so I'll try those.
This is a great idea but a word to those, like me, who can't handle any of the bitterness in pith and rind- its still there. I've made this before and other like it but I still find the bitterness unpleasant. So if you can't stomach marmalade or other things using rinds, skip this.
"a few more clementines than I can eat" a concept with which I am not familiar!!!
My family always had dried mandarin peel in the house for throwing in certain Chinese dishes but never thought to grind it to a powder for use in anything non-Asian. Love this idea! Thanks!
That sounds awesome! Would this work as a way to use some mandarins that I let sit in the fridge too long and that got kind of dried out? Because I have some of those.
Is it crazy that I think it would be really fun over popcorn?
Also, it would look really pretty as a cake or cupcake topping.
Also, perhaps as a "rim" for a cocktail? A margarita??
Sprinkled over yogourt, or in a parfait.
@LauraJane (and everyone), you can make this and when you put them in a food processor (or whatever) to grind them up, at the end throw in some large grain salt and give it a couple pulses. The best drink-rimming salt ever. Also I am totally feeling putting it on popcorn!
I might use it to flavour the cream sauce for a dessert I am making soon. Great idea! But I'll have to set aside an orange specially, because I don't often have any leftover fruit!
Hmmm I wonder what the results would be like if you were to try this with other citrus.... like meyer lemons for example :)
@LauraJane Yes! Making this to rim cocktail glasses just might have to convinced me to actually try this.
Huge fan of Chef Gwen! I'm so happy to see her recipe featured here. Her blog inspires me so much. So does this site.
bibliovore,
I've tried and tried to find a recipe or preparation out there with rinds and I just can't do it. All too too bitter. I made batches of delicious marmalade with no pith- just the skins...ended up straining out the skin bits. Just something about it doesn't agree with me. I know others in the same boat. But yes, using a potato peeler to get just the colored skins does help a good deal with bitterness.
Love this! I knew about tomato powder but never thought about the orange variety. Gonna dry some mandies today!