Oleo Saccharum (Refined Sugar-Free Variation)
This oleo saccharum is packs a citrusy punch that will elevate your mocktails and stand in for some of your favorite liqueurs. Refined sugar-free variations included.
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Servings:
Equipment
- kitchen scale optional, but recommended, or measuring cups
- non-reactive bowl or jar
Ingredients
- 1 cup citrus peel preferably from organic citrus
- ¼ cup organic cane sugar or coconut sugar (see citric acid variation below)
Instructions
- Wash your citrus, scrubbing gently if non-organic.
- Peel with a vegetable peeler, avoiding the white pith as much as possible. Place the peels in a non-reactive bowl.
- Gently mix in an equal amount of sugar, by weight, to the peels. A kitchen scale is best for determining this, but you can also eyeball it using the proportion of 1 cup of peels to ¼ c of sugar.
- Stir to coat the rinds with sugar. Let the mixture sit for 24 hours at room temperature, stirring every so often and pressing on the peels with a wooden spoon.
- After a day on your counter, strain the syrup through a sieve, pressing on the solids to extract as much syrup as possible. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.
Notes
When stored properly in the fridge, in airtight containers, oleo-saccharum can last for several weeks. However, it is best used within the first week for maximum freshness and flavor.
Variations
Coconut Sugar Oleo Saccharum This variation requires no deviation from the original recipe, but results in a dark syrup, similar to maple syrup in color. The coconut sugar is also coarser than regular sugar and therefore doesn’t dissolve fully, making it best suited for turning into a simple syrup by mixing it with equal parts water. This variation has a strong caramel flavor profile, making it a better companion for grapefruit and orange than lemon or lime, in my opinion. I also wouldn’t add this to light-colored cocktails with delicate flavors and would instead stick to using this in bourbon-inspired mocktails and fall and winter recipes. Citric Acid Oleo Saccharum For this variation, I added the same quantity of citric acid as sugar, but it yielded about half the quantity. Because citric acid is the element that makes sour candy sour, you can expect your syrup to make your mouth pucker like WOW. I love it, but I also envision it stripping all the enamel off my teeth when consumed as is. For use in mocktails, I combined the resulting citric acid syrup with an equal measure of honey, so in that step, it differs from the original recipe. Once combined, you can replace honey in recipes in a 1 to 1 ratio. If you like, you can also make a simple syrup by blending the resulting honey/citric acid syrup combo with an equal measure of water. I personally love the flavor, but I rarely make it this way because it yields so little. But now you’ve got some refined sugar-free options to play around with, and please do comment and let me know which you prefer! Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!