.

As you know – at least if you’ve read my About Me Page – I work at a school. There, we have a contract with a local grocery distributor who delivers organic fruit or vegetables once a week for the pupils in primary school. Depending on the produce and size, some moms come over and chop the fruit (or veggies) into smaller pieces so that nothing gets wasted.

Last week, we got oranges, and I rubbed my hands with glee. When the moms came to prepare the oranges, I asked them to put the peels aside for me and in the end I got 2 bags full. My office smelled like an orange farm!

I was astonished, though, that they had never heard of the different uses for orange peel and so I decided this topic was worth a blog post. Just let me say this before you dive in: it is important and cannot be stressed enough that you solely use ORGANIC orange peels. Traditionally cultivated oranges contain way too many toxins, especially on the peels and the disadvantages outweigh the benefits by far.

#1 Candied orange peel

For decades I loathed candied orange peel because I only knew the store-bought version. It didn’t look or taste anything like orange at all and even today I’m not sure if there is anything remotely orange in it (except, perhaps, some artificial orange colour).  Whenever I made Christmas cookies, gingerbread or other traditional baked Christmas goods that required candied orange peel, I either left it out completely or mixed it with fresh orange juice to a paste so that I would get in some of the flavours. Yet, I was never satisfied until I tried some at a local market in Italy. It was heaven! Juicy and chewy and bursting with flavour. Back home, I researched recipes for making candied orange peel by myself and you’ll be happy to know that it isn’t difficult at all!

Cut the orange peels into strips of about 0.5 cm.

If you want to dry them afterwards and use them as snacks, leave them like that. If you want to use them in cakes or cookies, cut them up into tiny squares.

Now, put them into a pot and fill up with water so that the peels are covered. Bring to the boil and let it boil for about 10 minutes. Pour the peels into a sieve and let them drain. Repeat the whole process twice and rinse the peels. This pre-cooking removes the bitter taste from the peels.

Put 0.5 l water into the pot and add 1 kg sugar or multiply the amounts if you have lots of peel. Just stick to the ratio of one part water to two parts sugar. Bring this mixture to the boil while constantly stirring until the sugar is dissolved. When the syrup is boiling add the orange peels and let it simmer for about 30 minutes until the peels are well cooked. Now, you either take the peels out onto a wire rack and let them dry for 12 – 24 hours until they are almost dry and still a bit sticky. Then put some sugar into a bowl, add the peels in portions and mix it through until the peels are well-covered in sugar. In the fridge, they will last for up to one week.

The other option is to put the cooked orange peel cubes into a glass jar and add some of the orange syrup so that the peels are covered in it. Close the jars with lids and once cooled down put them into the fridge. They’ll last for up to one year.

#2: Orange syrup

Don’t throw away the syrup from the candied orange peels. It’ll make an amazing flavour addition to water, cocktails, soda and more. You can even add it to some apple vinegar, pour about 20 cl in a glass and fill it up with sparkling water. This makes a wonderfully refreshing, non-alcoholic drink for summer.

#3: Orange sugar

For this recipe, you must remove the white part of the peel. Cut the peel into pieces, mix it with sugar and put it into a blender. Mix until the sugar and peel are powdery. Distribute it on a baking tray and let it dry in the oven at low heat until it’s completely dry. Let it cool down and store it in a tight container. Basically, it’ll last forever but it’s best consumed within a year of making it. Later, the flavour will go down.

#3: Orange powder

The production of orange powder is similar to orange sugar. You remove the white part of the peel and let the peels dry in the oven at low heat. When they are completely dry (make the “snap test”) and cooled down, grind them in the blender until they’ve become a powder. Use orange powder wherever you need a bit of orange flavour, i.e. cakes, salad dressings or savoury dishes.

#4: Orange salt

Remove the white part of the orange peels and cut them into very small pieces. Put the salt, the orange peels, some thyme and rosemary in layers into a glass jar and close it with the lid. After two weeks, the salt has taken on the flavours. You can either let it be as it is (this will make for a beautiful gift) or put the mixture in a blender and mix it until it’s powdery.

#5: Infused orange oil

To make infused orange oil, remove the white part of the orange peels and put them into a glass bottle. Fill up with very good olive oil and let it set for two weeks. Afterwards, drain the oil and remove the peels. You now have some great orange-flavoured oil that you can use for salad dressings, pasta sauces or even on your pizza.

#6: Orange-flavoured honey

Again, remove the white part of the orange peels and put the peels into a glass jar. Fill it up with honey – either the real thing or one of your homemade herb kinds of honey – and let it sit for 5 – 7 days. Drain the honey and use it in your tea or instead of sugar in a German Hefezopf for example.

#7: Orange butter

After removing the white parts of the orange peels, cut them into tiny pieces. Soften the butter by mixing it and then add the tiny orange peels and some salt. Mix well and form a roll. Let it sit in the fridge until it’s firm. Enjoy this butter on some homemade bread or with grilled meat. You can also freeze the orange butter so that you’ll have it available when the BBQ season starts. In the fridge, the butter will last for about one week, and in the freezer for up to 6 months.

#8: Ice cubes

This is a simple one: remove the white part of the orange peels, cut them into small strips and put them into ice cube forms. Fill up the forms with water and put them into the freezer. I love these orange ice cubes for all kinds of drinks as they don’t water them down but give them a subtle orange flavour.

#9: Orange peel vinegar cleaner

I love cleaning with this orange peel vinegar cleaner. Not only does it remove stains well, but it also smells really good – not at all like vinegar. To make your own orange peel vinegar cleaner, put some orange peels into a large jar until it’s about three-quarters full. Fill it up with white vinegar or vinegar essence and let it sit for two weeks. Remove the peels and fill the cleaner into a spray bottle. You can use this cleaner for removing water stains in the bathroom or for cleaning your kitchen surfaces. In short: everywhere you would use vinegar to clean.

#10: Orange extract for cleaning

After having removed the white part of the orange peels, put the peels in a glass bottle until it’s about three-quarters full. Fill it up with clear alcohol like vodka or schnapps and let it sit for two weeks. After that time remove the peels and put the bottle without a lid onto a sunny windowsill. The alcohol will evaporate. Sniff the mixture from time to time: if you can’t smell the alcohol any longer it’s ready. I love using this orange extract in my mop water and in our homemade laundry detergent.

#11: Orange sugar scrub

This is a fast, cheap and easy way to make a healthy body scrub with totally natural ingredients that will do your body nothing but good! Remove the white part of the orange peels and cut the peels into tiny pieces. Mix them with one cup of coconut oil, ½ cup of sugar and 3-4 tablespoons of orange juice. Put it into a glass and store it in the fridge for up to one week.

#12: Orange peel soap

As in the orange sugar scrub, finely cut orange peel makes a good peeling in soap, too. You can use any simple soap recipe, add finely cut dried (!) orange peel and some essential orange oil and use it as a peeling soap that smells great! For a simple orange peel soap recipe look here.

I know there are some more uses for orange peels out there but I haven’t tried them yet. I will, however, and every time I find some new ways to use orange peels, I’ll update this post. Stay curious!