Ways With Citrus: Preserving Winter's Best

February always feels a bit like mother nature’s roll of the dice. Just earlier this week, my doorstep was covered in nearly 20 inches of snow and the view from my window resembled, at least for a few hours, a winter wonderland, the streets blanketed in a quiet sheath of untouched white. Now that snow has been pushed back to the curbs, melting into dirty grey piles of slush thanks to a gorgeous streak of winter sunshine. The kind of sun that signals the coming of spring and makes you want to tilt your head way back upwards to the sky to feel the warmth of a forthcoming seasonal shift. And of course the weather report is reading rain all next week. :/

Winter is long, grey and volatile, and would be somewhat uninspiring were it not for the bright lift of citrus — like a shot of refreshing sunshine and vibrancy straight into your veins. Winter citrus is life-giving, a cure for bottomed out moods and a fixer for meals that feel a little too, well…”wintry.” You’ll typically get the best citrus all year right NOW in grocery stores - December through mid-March is peak citrus season, time to go all in on your vitamin C intake (great for staving off winter colds, boosting antioxidants and overall energy and making your skin look a little more lively and radiant). Compared to seasons past, this year’s citrus crop has been fairly lackluster—at least from what I’ve found and tasted from your average grocery store/Whole Foods. (pro tip: If you live in NYC and are willing to go deep into your wallet, Natoora always sources incredible citrus and you can get it delivered it your door). This is not necessarily a sustainable grocery run, so I aim to find the bright spots at my local groceries and look out for lesser known varietals as they often have the most exciting flavor—meyer lemons, tangelos, pomelos & oro blanco grapefruits…and then I’ll preserve them to capture that winter sunshine all the way well into spring and beyond. I actually just found a bottle of citrus vinegar I’d made last winter 2025 in the depths of my fridge and it’s still fantastically aromatic, perfect for salad dressings or adding a dash of energy to any dish. Each winter, I’ll invest in a stash of citrus, clogging up my fridge or countertop for a few days and then I’ll carve out an hour or two and go hard on “kitchen projects” as I like to call them. My annual ritual of making winter citrus vinegar, candied citrus peels and preserved citrus (typically lemons or meyer lemons). Of course you could venture into the world of marmalade and jams, but I lean into the items I use most of the course of a year (and they’re all quick and easy once you get rolling and the candied peels and vinegar are a resourceful way to get more out of the fruit). Below is how I use each followed by a quick recipe.

How to Use:

Citrus Vinegar - a great way to preserve flavor from an excess of citrus peels. I’ll use this vinegar in salad dressings, to add a shot of acidity and aroma (a nice flavor lift) to simmered beans, a meaty stew, a braised or roasted chicken, roasted vegetables, cooked whole grains like quinoa, couscous and more.

Candied Citrus Peel - I like to take the peels (or whole very thin slices) from a few Meyer lemons, regular lemons, little mandarins, kumquats or very thin slices of Buddha’s hand citrus (Whole Foods and other groceries have started carrying these crazy looking, but incredibly-scented fruits - see photo above) and cut them super fine and thin and then candy them in a simple syrup and then add a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness. All in, the process will take you 20-30 minutes, but 4-5 lemons/mandarins or 1 small Buddha’s hand will take you through at least half a year if not longer. Store them in the fridge and use them to add a nice sweet note to salads, grain / bean dishes, a topping for fish, chicken or roasted veg, a garnish for cakes and creamy desserts like panna cotta and vanilla ice cream.

Preserved Lemon / Meyer Lemon - Mince a tiny bit of a preserved lemon up and you’ll transport any dish (and your soul) to Morocco/North Africa or somewhere warm and inviting. Delicious spooned into tagines, stews, braised meats/chicken, a garnish with fresh herbs like dill and cilantro for fish or simmered beans (especially stewed chickpeas mmmm), toss into couscous, quinoa, rice or bean salads. A little goes a long way - 1-2 teaspoons is all you’ll need for an entire dish that serves 4-6 people

Recipes:

Citrus Vinegar

peels of 3-4 grapefruit/pomelo/meyer lemon/mandarins, whatever mix of citrus you feel like

1 pint / 500ml / 2 cups good quality white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar *I typically use white wine vin for a more pure citrus flavor

2-3 bay leaves

In lightly simmering water, blanch the citrus peels for 30-45 seconds. Strain and repeat for a total of 2-3 times with fresh water to remove any bitterness from the peels.

Warm the vinegar in a small pot just slightly. Place the blanched peels and bay leaves in a glass jar or small container. Pour the vinegar over top, cool completely and close with a lid Allow to sit out on the counter for 3-4 days then transfer to the fridge and allow peels to steep in the vinegar for 1-2 weeks. Strain, reserving the flavored vinegar and store in the fridge — will last for well over a year if you don’t use it all beforehand.

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Candied Citrus Peels

peels (or very thin slices, seeded) of 4-5 lemons or Meyer lemons or mandarins, take the peels off in wide strips using a vegetable peeler and then slice very, very thinly lengthwise

* for Buddha’s hand, use a mandolin or knife to get very thin slices. You can use/eat the entire fruit. Typically, I’ll halve or quarter the fruit lengthwise into more manageable pieces and then mandolin or slice.

400g / 2 cups sugar

375ml / 1.5 cups water

pinch of kosher salt or sea salt

In lightly simmering water, blanch the citrus peels or slices for 30-45 seconds. Strain and repeat for a total of 2-3 times with fresh water to remove any bitterness.

Gently simmer the sugar (400g) and water (375ml) in a medium saucepan until sugar is fully dissolved. *Note, I’ve made this simple syrup a little heavier on the sugar so it has a more viscous quality, which is nice for candying and preserving the peels.

Add the citrus peels / slices and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes until peels are nicely candied and a bit translucent. Season lightly with a pinch salt to taste - taste and when the syrup makes you smile, you’ve hit the right amount. Cool and store in the fridge - peels preserved in the syrup. If you feel like getting wild, add a spent vanilla bean, a sprig or rosemary or a few pink peppercorns into the syrup.

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Preserved Lemons / Meyer Lemons

*note: typically you’ll find most recipes only call for salt, but I like to balance out flavor and bitterness with a bit of sugar so these lemons don’t “hit you in the face” so much, they can be very powerful. I typically use a ratio of 70 : 30 | salt : sugar.

3-4 lemons

30-35g kosher salt / sea salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt per lemon)

15g sugar (1 heaping tablespoon)

Cut each lemon into quarters lengthwise only going about 3/4 of the way down (so you’re leaving the bottom 1/4 of the lemon intact and can “petal out” the cut sides.

Sprinkle the inside of each lemon well with salt and sugar in a bowl, cover and allow to sit overnight. There should be a good amount of liquid/lemon juice released the following day.

Transfer the lemons to a glass jar/fermentation container and press down on them to release additional juices - you want them fully submerged under liquid in order to properly store and preserve them. Add some additional lemon juice from another lemon or two if needed.

Use a clean weight, like a stone or small plate to weigh the lemons down underneath the liquid, close the lid, shake a bit and allow to sit out at room temperature for 2-3 weeks in order to ferment - checking them occasionally and pressing down to release additional juices. Store for 6 months (or more) in the fridge.

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