The Glory of Orange-Blossom Water

I was doing a sort of kitchen inventory the other day and realized that my almost full bottle of Lebanese orange-blossom water expires in 2 weeks. My main use for this up to now has been to add it to plain yogurt, along with some sugar making a delicious and fresh-tasting snack. Evidently, I haven't been keeping up on the plain yogurt consumption, so with an orange-blossom emergency on my hands, I went to work.

I googled "orange-blossom water" and came up with a goldmine! A thread on the Chowhound forum all about different uses for orange-blossom water from orange blossom cocktails to fresh, savory salads to dozens of sweet, fresh desserts. For me, though the most appealing ideas were the simplest: orange-blossom iced tea, orange blossom rice pudding and Martha Stewart's pound cake with orange blossom syrup. This stuff is so good, I've already bought a new bottle to replace my quickly dwindling supply.

Here's my simple recipe for orange-blossom iced tea:

4 cups water
4 tsps loose assam tea
8 tsps sugar
2 tsps orange-blossom water

Fill a 1-quart (1 liter) container with tepid water and stir in the tea leaves. Allow them to steep for several hours or overnight. Strain and pour in to 2 - 1/2 liter (16 oz.) water bottles, add sugar and orange-blossom water and shake. Music to shake orange-blossom iced tea by: "Orange" by The Dandy Warhols. Serve well chilled. The effect of the orange-blossom water is to make the iced tea seem even more cooling, so it's perfect for hot days.

Tune in next for a great Middle Eastern orange-blossom rice pudding dessert and Martha Stewart's pound cake with orange-blossom syrup.