The World of Chinpi: How Tangerine Peel Becomes 'An Ounce of Peel, an Ounce of Gold'

The "Gold" in the Corner of Your Kitchen

After eating a tangerine at the winter table, what do you do with the peel? Most people toss it straight into the trash without a second thought. Yet that very peel is the raw material for chinpi (dried tangerine peel, 陳皮), an herb prized in East Asian medicine for more than two thousand years. In China's Guangdong Province there's even a saying: "An ounce of chinpi is worth an ounce of gold." Something we casually throw away is, in fact, balanced against gold -- and in this article, we trace that story of reversal.

Chinpi is the dried peel of ripe citrus fruit in the mandarin family, and the source of its aroma is essential oils led by limonene. In kampo it has traditionally been said to regulate the flow of qi and support digestion. Its properties are covered on the chinpi page. First, let's look at its deep history.

The Character "Chin": An Herb More Precious with Age

The "chin" in chinpi means "old" or "aged." Most herbs prize freshness, but chinpi is the exception -- like wine, it's held that "the more it's matured, the better." The harshness and pungency lingering in freshly picked peel are thought to fade over long years, transforming into a mellow, deep aroma.

At the pinnacle stands "Xinhui chinpi," made in Xinhui, Guangdong. Only peel made from this region's citrus and aged for three years or more is considered the real thing, and there is "aged chinpi" that has rested for ten, twenty, even more than fifty years. Vintage aged chinpi is traded like an antique, sometimes fetching prices that literally live up to "an ounce of peel, an ounce of gold." Locally there was even a culture of storing chinpi in warehouses as an asset, or sending it with a daughter as part of her dowry. A single sheet of peel becoming a family treasure -- it's a rich tale of ingenuity unique to a citrus-growing region.

Chinpi Is Closer Than You Think: Inside Shichimi Togarashi

You might think aged chinpi is a costly thing from a distant world. But chinpi has long since woven its way into the Japanese table -- most notably in shichimi togarashi, the seven-spice blend.

Shichimi togarashi is said to have originated in the early Edo period, during the Kan'ei era, at Yagenbori in Ryogoku, Edo. Taking inspiration from kampo medicine, its beginnings are traced to a blend of chili pepper, sansho, hemp seed, black sesame, poppy seed, dried seaweed -- and chinpi. That citrus nuance you catch now and then in the aroma of udon or shichimi is chinpi at work. Japanese chinpi is often made from the peel of the satsuma mandarin, giving it a soft, approachable aroma. Together with yuzu, another citrus herb, it has quietly supported Japanese food culture from behind the scenes.

Making Chinpi at Home: Turning Tangerine Peel into Tea

Happily, chinpi is easy to make at home. It won't rival the premium aged chinpi you can buy, but a fragrant homemade version is surprisingly simple. Here's a method well worth trying for anyone searching how to turn tangerine peel into tea.

What you'll need

• Organic or low-pesticide tangerines (choose fruit with little pesticide, since you'll use the peel)
• A colander or drying net

Method

1. Wash the tangerines well and peel them. Scrubbing with salt helps lift surface grime.
2. The white pith (mesocarp) on the inside of the peel causes bitterness, so if it bothers you, gently scrape it off with a spoon.
3. Tear the peel into pieces 2 to 3cm wide and arrange them on the colander without overlapping.
4. Sun-dry in a well-ventilated, shaded spot for 1 to 2 weeks, until bone-dry.
5. Once completely dry, store in an airtight container with a desiccant.

Dry it thoroughly, since residual moisture causes mold. If you have time, it's also fun to let it rest for months or years to attempt your own aging. Pour hot water over chopped chinpi and you'll enjoy a faintly sweet, refreshing citrus tea. It's long been favored as an after-meal cup for days when your stomach feels heavy -- a body-kind habit that shares the same spirit as our approach to chai for digestion.

Using It in Chai and Japanese-Style Craft Cola

Once you've made your own chinpi, put it to work in spiced drinks.

Chinpi Chai

Just add a pinch of dried chinpi to your usual milk chai and the layers of aroma grow dramatically richer. Against the sweet fragrance of cinnamon and the warmth of ginger, chinpi's citrus adds a refreshing accent that makes the finish astonishingly light. The trick is to add it to the pot along with the other spices at the simmering stage and let it steep for about 5 minutes. It's ideal after a rich meal, or paired with a heavy dessert.

Japanese-Style Craft Cola

Chinpi also shines as a fine supporting player in the craft cola that has grown so popular in recent years. Add chinpi to standard spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and clove, and the citrus character distinctive to cola gains depth, finishing with the calm, wakan (Japanese-Chinese herbal) flavor. The orange and lemon notes that flavor commercial cola can be recreated with humble tangerine peel -- another sign of chinpi's broad range. Combine yuzu peel and chinpi in a homemade cola syrup and you get a uniquely Japanese citrus craft cola.

Summary

Tangerine peel is nothing but trash if you throw it away, but dry it and let it rest and it becomes an herb praised as "an ounce of peel, an ounce of gold." Already woven into our tables through shichimi togarashi, and easy to make at home, chinpi is one of the most accessible of all wakan spices. This winter, after you eat a tangerine, save just one peel and dry it. A few weeks later, a small piece of "gold" should be waiting in your kitchen. And if you learn your taste tendencies through ChaiHolic's taste diagnosis, your affinity for a cup enlivened with chinpi is sure to come into focus.

References

• The Japan Society for Oriental Medicine - About Kampo
• National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition - Information on the Safety and Effectiveness of Health Foods
• Japan Kampo Medicines Manufacturers Association - Guide to Crude Drugs