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Trash Collective Citrus Stock

Since launching in 2017, Trash Collective has evolved from a traveling pop-up into a drinks consulting and educational resource for bartenders and bar owners who are looking to reduce waste. Its citrus stock recipe was conceptualized by co-founders Kelsey Ramage and Iain Griffiths alongside Ryan Chetiyawardana in London bar Dandelyan’s juicing room. It’s a simple yet effective 30-minute process of pressure-cooking spent citrus husks (pulp and all) in water, then straining and adjusting with acid and sugar to produce a liquid that essentially acts as a juice substitute or volume enhancer. It’s a waste-reduction and resource-doubling technique that offers something the usual suspects (oleo saccharum, cordials, preserves, dehydrating for garnishes, and the like) do not.

This recipe originally appeared as part of “Repurpose Your Citrus with This Waste-Reducing Hack.”

Ingredients

  • 51 ounces water
  • 2 1/5 pounds citrus husks (halved and juiced)
  • 33 grams/100 cup White sugar
  • Citric acid (instructions below)
  • Malic acid (instructions below)
  • Equipment: 1 large strainer (such as Superbag or chinois)

Steps

  1. Add the water and husks to a large pot and let boil for 5 minutes.

  2. Remove the husks (your stock will go bitter if you leave any longer), giving a quick squeeze back into the mixture as you pull them out. Remove the liquid from heat quickly and measure. (Accounting for some loss in heat evaporation and absorption from the husks, it should be 44 fluid ounces, give or take).

  3. Place back on high heat until liquid is reduced by 50 percent, then add the sugar.

  4. Add the citric and malic acid according to ratio based on citrus type.
    Lemon and lime: 3% citric, 2% malic
    Orange and grapefruit: 2% citric, 1% malic
    Mandarin, etc.: 1% citric, 2% malic

  5. Remove from heat, filter, bottle and refrigerate.

Note: This recipe can easily be scaled up or down based on how much supply you’re working with or the volume you’re aiming to produce. Citrus stock can be kept fresh for three days or frozen for one month.