Fresh Orange peel vs Store bought

[Fisher kel Tath]

Looking to use some orange peel. What is the difference between Sweet and Bitter, and how does it compare to fresh zest from an orange?

[alan_marks]

Sweet orange is the dried peel from just that, such as a Valencia or navel orange. Bitter orange is the dried peel from the orange used to make orange liquer, such as triple sec or Gran Mariner. It is a bitter citrus fruit that is used to provide the orange flavors for these brandies. Using fresh zest gives you all the available volitile oils from the peel of a fresh orange. I would suggest using a stainless steel micro plane (grater) to get all of that orange goodness. Just as a reminder, only grate the orange part and don't go too far when doing this, since the pith of a fresh orange is a bit bitter.

Hope this helps,
Alan

[sjvworthog]

I work for a citrus company, so I am always trying to figure out how to use citrus in my brews. My technique for fresh citrus is to quarter the citrus and then scrape the pith off from the inside. This way I don't have to worry about zesting too deep. It also gives me large pieces to deal with for measuring, brewing, cooking and storing.

[Fisher kel Tath]

I've tried to zest from the inside, it sucked.

Anyway, wondering if I could get away with using orange zest instead of orange blossom honey in an upcoming Belgian Braggot I'm planning

[alan_marks]

I've tried to zest from the inside, it sucked.

Anyway, wondering if I could get away with using orange zest instead of orange blossom honey in an upcoming Belgian Braggot I'm planning

Lets think about this for a moment...

Orange zest has all the oils from the orange peel, with all of those aromatics. Orange blossom honey is produced with the nectar and pollen from the bees collecting from the orange blossoms. Different products, different flavors...

Personally, I would use both. I think fhat would give you the opportunity to have all of the aromatics available. Concider that as this ferments, some of these aromas may be scrubbed in the process.

Just my thought process,
Alan

[brewinhard]

Definitely go with fresh orange zest as stated above (use a citrus zester and NO PITH). With that being said, I have also used a variety of oranges and grapefruits to achieve a nice layered citrus effect in my witbiers.