BY ELLEN WHYTE
WHEN you've eaten your orange, grapefruit or tangerine, don't throw away the peel.
The colourful outer skin, called the zest, is an excellent flavouring. Take a grater and add the zest of your citrus fruits to 150g butter, 75g sugar and 225g plain flour to make sweetly scented citrus biscuits. Bake in a medium hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
If you're watching your figure, add the zest to a small bottle of water and refrigerate. Alternatively, refrigerate the zest for up to 24 hours and then add it into your coffee or tea.
If you have a whole peel left from chopping up a fruit and a bowl of brown sugar in your fridge for your morning coffee, add the peel to the bag. The zest will keep your sugar moist and prevent it from clumping.
For citrus peel that still has a bit of fruit sticking to it, use it as a rub to clean underneath your nails and moisten your cuticles. If you've been chopping garlic, lemon and lime peels are especially useful for banishing lingering odours.
