Orange blossom water

As I’ve already mentioned, I had to buy a bottle of this stuff for the pan dolce I made for Christmas last year. And not wanting to be wasteful I’ve been keeping my eyes open for other recipes that make use of it. Recipes for things that I would eat … it’s main use seems to be in Middle Eastern cooking …

Came across a recipe for Orange Blossom Butter Cookies – bit like orange flavoured short bread – weren’t too hard to make and they look impressive but unfortunately, taste like (as I’d imagine) Granny’s orange-fragranced powder puff!!

Have since found some useful tips in a Cuisine magazine:

Orange-blossom water is distilled from the fragrant blossoms of Seville oranges. The result is an intriguing flavour. However, too much and it smells like a garden and is too overtly floral to enjoy with food.

[It] enhances fruit, particularly apricots, figs, strawberries, rhubarb, pears, dates and bananas. Add a few drops to fruit salads, summer pudding, fruit pastries, stewed or poached fruit, fruit creams and fruit crêpes.

A few drops added to savoury dishes such as lamb with apricots and almonds, chicken with white wine and grapes, duck with cherries, and Persian or Arabic rice dishes, adds an irresistibly exotic touch.

Try adding half a teaspoon of orange- blossom water to salad dressings. This is intriguing with carrot salad, avocado and smoked fish and stir-fried peppers with ginger and chilli.