buddha's hand citron vodka recipe – use real butter (2024)

Recipe: buddha’s hand citron vodka

Our “wake up earlier” project works quite well. I’m sitting down and working before 7am each morning, although with everything I have on my plate it’s never early enough. Damn you, Sleep!! I was able to catch Andrew on Monday before he slipped off to Austin for SXSW. We went to Nick and Willy’s in Boulder for some slow-roasted chicken. That is some gooooood chicken. If you haven’t tried it, you really ought to. After that, we set to work on some items for the photography workshop. Whenever it feels like the organization and planning is bogging me down, I talk to Andrew and he gets me jazzed up again. Fan-freaking-tastic!

I finally culled my 2000+ photos from the Sandhill crane shoot (two words: marathon session) and have a few more to share before we move on to other fun and exciting things. I’m not posting all of them, that would be insanity… and boring.

Sarah had asked in the comments how I go about choosing the keepers when I have culled out the technically inferior photographs (unfocused, bad compo, etc.). That’s an excellent question. I think part of what makes a good photographer is knowing what not to show and that requires having artistic standards. I remove my personal emotional attachment to captures and try to be as objective as possible. And I am a pretty hard critic of my own work (and of other people’s work, but I keep those thoughts to myself).

I threw pottery for ten years. When I was first learning to throw, my instructor (an incredibly talented artist) pulled one of his beautiful bowls from the kiln. Stu scrunched his nose at it and threw it in the trash. “What are you doing?!” I exclaimed as I ran to retrieve it from the trash bin. He told me it wasn’t good enough, not up to his standards. “Well, it’s up to mine, I’ll take it – don’t throw it out, Stuuuuuu,” I pleaded. He shook his head, gently took the bowl from my hands, and smashed it on the ground. “If it has my name on it,” he smiled “then it has to be up to snuff.” I thought he was crazy then. I get it now.

To answer Sarah’s question: I don’t delete good or great photos. I keep them in archive. The ones that I show – sometimes less than 1% or up to 10% – are the best ones of the bunch. If I have 5 photos of the exact same thing, then I’m doing something wrong, because that is not how I shoot. Usually I will have a series that varies the depth-of-field, exposure time, focal length, composition, or action. If all is technically solid, then choosing the best one boils down to my artistic judgment. I think a lot of photography enthusiasts overlook the importance of being selective. Loving your photograph is not going to make it any better or any more appealing to an objective viewer.

About a month ago, I was breezing through the Boulder Whole Foods store when I stopped at the produce section where they harbor exotic things like prickly pears, passion fruits, and spiky round orange things. What caught my attention was a Buddha’s hand citron. I knew about these because I had seen Todd and Diane post about it on their blog. What I didn’t know was how the fragrance would mesmerize me into purchasing two of them without having the slightest clue what I would do with them.

If you hold a Buddha’s hand citron to your nose and inhale, you will be transported to a world of lemons and roses. That’s the only way I can think to describe the fragrance. It is a floral and citrus perfume that wafts into your nostrils and you will inevitably close your eyes to be engulfed in the reverie of scenes from fabric softener commercials (you know, the rolling green hills, diffuse warm sunshine, furry bunnies, and sprouting spring flowers).

I could have candied the peels, but having just candied a million orange peels, I was sort of over that whole thing. I went to Todd and Diane’s page and saw that they made Buddha’s hand citron vodka. I’m not much of a boozer, but this sounded like a fun excuse to buy large quantities of cheap vodka.

The process is so simple. The biggest challenge was finding some bottles nice enough to give to friends. To say that Boulder has an enthusiastic home brewing community is an understatement. I was able to pick up a great set of bottles from Hop To It Brewing in Boulder.

It has been a month since I bottled the citron vodka. I’ve kept them stored in a dark, cool closet and I think they are ready now. I have to look around for a good co*cktail to try, but the bottles also make for great gifts.

Buddha’s Hand Citron Vodka
[print recipe]
from White on Rice Couple

2 Buddha’s hand citron
2 quarts vodka
8 8-ounce bottles with good stoppers (or whatever bottles you want to use)

Wash the Buddha’s hand citron, pat dry, and slice in half. Cut the peel into strips and remove any excess pith (a little is okay). Divvy up the peel among your clean, dry bottles. Pour the vodka into the bottles. Cap and store in a cool, dark place for 30 days. Your Buddha’s hand citron vodka should be ready!

March 11th, 2010: 10:06 am
filed under beverages, booze, fruit, photography, recipes