You've just eaten an orange and you're left with leftover orange peels that you've started to take to the garbage bin. Wait! There's better uses. The first one is obviously compost it, but there's tons of uses for orange peels that go far beyond compost material.
I ran to a local produce shop on my lunch today and almost threw out the orange peels. Luckily I decided I could do some research and put them to better use than my work garbage.
Edible Uses
Ideally, before you eat an orange, you should remove the tasty part of the peel (the non-white parts) with a peeler, knife or microplane - depending on the desired use.
Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peels by Downshiftology
Candied Orange Peels by Epicurious
Orange Peel Infused Olive Oil by Food.com
Dried Orange Peels by Little House Living
Orange Infused Honey by Evergreen Kitchen
Orange Peel Tea by The Seaman Mom
Orange Peel Powder by Bellatory
Orange Sugar by Like Mother Like Daughter
Orange Infused Sea Salt by Platings and Pairings
Dried Citrus Zest by Cupcake Project
Dark Chocolate Bark with Candied Orange by Urban Foodie Kitchen
Orange Marmalade by Culinary Hill (Oranges and Peels)
Use the Pith as a Vegan Pectin by Preparedness Mama
Household Uses
Orange Peel Cleaner by Zero Waste Nutrition
Orange Peel Candle by CNet (orange needs to be halved, not peeled)
Citrus Garbage Disposal Refreshers by Hello Glow
Homemade Orange Essential Oil by Organization Junkie
Clean Burnt Pans by Home Talk
Outdoor Uses
Orange Peel Kindling by Bob Vila
Orange Peel Bird Feeder by Treehugger
Orange Peel Bug Spray by Heart Scent Aromatheraphy
This article is part of a bigger series on the blog outlining ways to reduce food waste titled "What Can I Do With..." - the series can be found here.
What other uses do you have for orange peels? Let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to add your idea to the post!
Leave a Reply