Oranges + Belgian Wit

I'm getting ready to start my belgian wit. I have a question, though, about the orange peel. Do I put the whole peel in or just the zest (as in standard baking)? I was going to use a curacao orange. Also, should I put it in during the last 10-15 minutes of the boil or earlier.

My other question is about the corriander. Should I grind it to a powder so that it dissolves in the wort or should I leave it coarse and strain it out at the end?

Thanks

Reck

I've never used anything but dried orange peel. I suppose fresh peel can be used, but I'm not familiar with it. If I were to do it, I'd probably just cut the top 1/16" from the peel and use that.

As for coriander, keep the seeds whole. You want the coriander to be subtle; if you grind it up, it'll stay in the wort and might throw it out of balance.

I'm not sure about the orange peel, but in the kit I did the Coriander seeds were left intact.

TWolf10 said:

I'm not sure about the orange peel, but in the kit I did the Coriander seeds were left intact.

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I gave them a quick crush - but not with my grain mill. I threw them in a ziploc bag and ran my rolling pin over them a few times - just enough to break up the seed a bit.

I used crushed corriander in my Grand Cru. It turned out AWESOME. I think you need to at least crack them. As far as orange peel, I'm in the same boat as everyone else - have only used dried.

I read somewere that the white stuff under the skin (we call it pith ) can add an undesirable bitter quality.

I used fresh oanges in my christmas ale, just grated the zest off with a cheese grater...

Jamesemt said:

I read somewere that the white stuff under the skin (we call it pith ) can add an undesirable bitter quality.

I used fresh oanges in my christmas ale, just grated the zest off with a cheese grater...

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Same here. I got a little too deep and got *some* white stuff, but for the most part it was all just fresh orange zest as directed by Papazian's "bible". We'll see how it turns out in about 6 weeks.

Thanks for the help. I was thinking that the zest would be the only desirable part as in baking. Just didn't want to under or over do it. Any idead about the amount of corriander? I was going to use about a teaspoon, but I've seen recipes use a lot more.

I used 0.5oz of ground coriander in the last 5 minutes and it gave a very nice zesty aroma to the beer. I would use up to 0.75 oz next time.

I used an ounce in my Grand Cru for the last 5 mins. That was a bit bigger beer than a wit. I'd probably use about a 1/2 oz there. Perhaps as much as .75.

I'm having trouble finding curacao oranges (which many recipes call for.) Anybody have an idea which kind of orange makes a suitable substitute. Getting fresh oranges in Michigan in November is not an easy task.

I used dried bitter orange for my second Wit annd it was much better than the sweet orange I used in my first Wit.