In the winter months, due to seasonal conditions, we have citrus fruits such as pomelo, mandarin, lime, yuzu, etc. in our menus. This usually always leaves a lot of peels and cuttings. Especially with citrus fruits like pomelo. Here we have tried to find a solution on how we can continue to use the "waste". It is also exciting that we have found a way to use the leaves and stems of citrus fruits, as they contain enormous amounts of aromas that we can smell and taste after distillation in the hydrosol. In addition, we enrich the base mass with green shiso to get a very special taste. The resulting citrus peels can be collected in a box and vacuumed or frozen, and then a certain amount can be kept as a stock.

Preparation:

Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix until a watery puree is obtained. If the mixture is too thick, add a little more water. Place in a vacuum bag, vacuum seal and let sit for 24 hours. Put the mass in a rotary flask and distill according to the instructions.

The following settings for the distillation:
70 rpm, heating bath at 51° C, the cooling should have at least an initial temperature of 2° C.
It is recommended to approach the boiling point in 5 mbar steps when distilling for the first time from an initial pressure of 200 mbar. When the boiling point is reached and the process is running, the pressure should be reduced rather slowly to an end point of 50 mbar.

After distillation, the hydrosol must still be enriched with the sugar syrup for a better viscosity. In order to take out some of the sweetness again, the hydrosol should still be balanced with a little acid. A little lime juice is best suited here. We bind the hydrosol with a little xanthan gum. Then let the vinaigrette stand until it becomes clear again and strain again through a fine sieve.

Further processing:
We use the hydrosol as a base for a vinaigrette and serve it as a petit four in our restaurant with a variation of tangerine, white chocolate pearls as well as pumpkin seed oil.

Have fun while enjoying!