meyer lemon from L2O CHICAGO

If you peel a Meyer lemon you will smell the intense fragrance of the natural oil content in the skin. It is so fresh and vibrant that the scent gets carried through the whole space of the kitchen. I like to preserve these skins with salt, grate them over a cooked fish or mince them into a lamb tartar. But I also distill the skins, blended into a liquid state with lemon juice, to then be able to extract all the essence through the evaporator. A clear liquid drips down into the receiving flask with the essential oil floating over it. The essential oil can be extracted from the top of the liquid and used in many ways. I can be mixed with a neutral oil and used flavor, or the liquid itself can be used as a poaching liquid for a protein or as part of a component for a sauce. Here, below, we set the liquid in a small sphere mold and roll them in Meyer lemon zest powder. (The zest are blanched, cooked in water and a bit of sugar, and air dried on a tray for few days, and then finely ground.)