Orange peels // fruit

🌱🍊🤔 Did you know that dried orange peels can be used to flavor tea, soup, oil, sugars, stews, and soups? Orange peels should not be thrown out because eating orange peel is perfectly healthy and safe. Grandma Sita loves warming herbal tea using dried orange peels on a chilly winter day! 

💪 Orange peels contain several times the vitamin C of oranges, plus it is also a good source of dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins A and B. This makes orange peels a natural antioxidant that helps boost your immune system and it may promote relaxation and soothe anxiety as well.

👩‍🍳 Orange peels can be also enjoyed raw in salads and smoothies, cooked to make orange marmalade, or zested to add a pop of orange color and flavor to foods. However, the orange peel is fairly bitter, which means you’d want to eat it in small amounts. That’s why you can’t substitute orange peel for orange zest because the bitter white pith will offset the citrus flavor.

👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:
*Use a vegetable peeler to peel the orange or other citrus fruit. Don’t press too hard while peeling, to avoid taking too much of the bitter white pith along with the peels.
*In summer/spring I dry orange peels in the hot sun. In the winter/autumn months use a dehydrator, or low oven or simply pop them by the fire or a radiator until they’re dry.
*The dried peels must be hard and crispy, or they may spoil. Take it one step further and make an orange peel powder. Place the dried orange peels in a blender and combine until they become a fine powder.
*Store dried orange peels or orange peel powder in a mason jar or airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to use. Stashing large slivers of orange peel in your freezer is a great way to preserve their flavor until the day it’s needed.

📗 Orange peels can be used to make DIY natural cosmetics or cleaning products, and as an ingredient in compost to enrich the soil.

🌎 Nearly half of all fruits and veggies produced globally are wasted yearly. Remember citrus peels are packed with beneficial vitamins and health-promoting compounds such as antioxidants. So the next time you have a lemon, mandarin, or other citrus fruits lying around, remember to save those peels for the pantry. All of us can act at home to reduce our waste and every single one counts!