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You can quit wondering what to do with citrus peels with these flavorful, useful and no waste ideas.
Every citrus fruit comes with edible and useful peels. Make sure to use them to their full potential when in season.
How to Get the Most Peel
If you’re going to save and use those peels, make sure to get the maximum from the fruit.
Zest or peel the fruit while it is still whole. It’s much easier to get the zest from the fruit while it is still solid rather than trying to get it from a hollow shell after you’ve eaten or used the orange or grapefruit.
A microplane zester is a quick and easy way to get that zest from the peel while avoiding the pith. Yes, a box grater works but honestly the microplane is so much more efficient for this particular task.
Like long strips of zest for dropping into drinks or for garnishes? A citrus peeler can cut long thing strips rather than grating the zest like a microplane.
Compost Citrus Peels
You can put citrus peels in compost piles but they can take a very long time to break down in the piles.
Citrus peels should not be put in vermicomposting bins, as the citrus as it tends to be too acidic for the red wiggler worms.
When composting it in a traditional pile, make sure to cut them into smaller pieces to help it break down faster.
Dehydrate Citrus Peels
Dry those peels. Lay them out on dehydrator trays and dry at 125 degrees until crisp.
Alternatively string the peels with a needle and thread and hang somewhere warm and dry (near the wood stove, for example) until they’re crispy dry. Careful with this method as they could mold before drying if the air is humid or cool. It’s worth trying however.
Once dried, those peels have a multitude of uses:
Dried citrus peels are a flavorful addition to hot tea.
Run the dried peels through a blender or food processor and turn it into a powder. That powder can then be added to baking soda and borax for a homemade scouring cleaner.
Add coarsely ground peels to homemade body sugar & salt scrubs for a little extra exfoliating power.
Make a homemade Vitamin C supplement by mixing dried powder with other herbs for a natural solution.
Rather than running the dehydrator every day – keep peels stored in a container in the refrigerator. Once a week, put all the collected peels in the dehydrator and run until dry. The great thing about grinding it all into a powder is that it’s easy to store in a compact place.
Infuse Citrus Peels
Put those peels in a jar with some vinegar and let it sit for a few weeks. After straining use that citrus vinegar for all your household cleaning needs.
Mix the zest with salt or sugar for a delightful citrus flavor for all your savory and sweet cooking needs. Lemon salt is especially good on chicken or fish. Orange sugar is delightful in cookies, even hot chocolate.
Cover the zest with vodka and let it steep. After a few weeks, a citrus flavored extract is born. That extract is perfect for use in cookies, cakes, and other baked goods. It’s even delicious mixed with a little sugar syrup as an adult cordial.
Remember, most any citrus peel can be substituted for another, so don’t be shy in making tangerine salt or grapefruit extract, simply substitute equal amounts of zest or rind in any recipe calling for citrus peel.
As this winter season moves by us, be sure to save and use every bit of that expensive, organic citrus for use in the home. Use those peels for cleaning, body products, food and much more that will last long beyond this winter season.
My favorite way to use citrus peals is the one where I soak them in vinegar and use that for cleaning. After 2 rounds of vinegar soaking, I’ll put them in ice cube trays topped with more vinegar and freeze them. Every so often, I’ll throw some down the garbage disposal.
The garbage disposal trick is such a great idea – thanks for sharing!
I’ve been trying to figure out ways to reuse citrus peels since we can’t put them in the worm bin and our chickens don’t like them. I really dislike throwing them out so I LOVED this post with all these ideas- I can’t wait to try them out!!
I’m so glad that you found it useful!
I was just googling the other day on what I can use old shriveled grapefruit & lemons not able to eat. Perfect ideas !!
Btw, I couldn’t locate via Google on anything. So your email & post were a Gos send! I’m trying to become conscious in using all foods for something! Compost bin just started
Oh I’m so glad to know this proved useful for you!
Dried citrus peels make great firestarters. Their heavenly scent fills the house.
What a great idea! I’m going to give that a try. Thanks.
I use mine to steep in my gallon tea pitcher and also make bitters! Great uses!
I can’t wait to try them in the fireplace.
My lemon tree was very productive this year and I just couldn’t bring myself to throw away the lemon halves after juicing them, now I have some great ideas. Thanks so much for sharing!
Oh enjoy that homegrown goodness! I’m so glad to know this will come in handy for you.
@Lolly Lewis, I like to zest my lemons before juicing them and keep it in the freezer lovely with my yogurt
Do you have to remove the pith off the peels before dehydrating?
It’s up to you. As I mostly use the dried peels for body & cleaning products, I leave the pith. If you’re going to be using it for a lot of cooking, recipes, etc. You might want to remove the pith so it’s not too bitter.
Can I put the dry orange peel powder in a bath bomb…
I think you could, though I haven’t personally tried it. Good luck!
Hi, I am so glad I found your blog. In answer to some of the questions above I thought I might add that to dehydrate, I first take a paring knife and skim off as much of the pith as I can. Then I slices the peel into tiny strips and spread them out on the dehydrator trays. It makes them dry out much faster and I store them in an airtight container. If I know it will be a long time, I always add an oxygenator packet (those little packets you can by on Amazon that removes all the oxygen from the storage containers. I use these whenever a recipe asks for “zest of.” As for citrus that has kind of dried up before you can use it. Try slicing thin and add to a simmering pot on the stove or crockpot with some cinnamon, cloves and star anise, it makes the house smell like heaven. I am getting ready to try the recipe for extract and also the vinegar & witch-hazel recipes. (Vinegar for cleaning & witch-hazel for an air freshener) I love learning how to be more self sufficient and stop wasting money at the grocery store. Please keep all of the wonderful ideas coming. Thank you
Thank you for these great tips.
My goats love to eat citrus peels…they recycle them into fertilizer much faster than composting does! ;) But I do dehydrate some for home use as well.
Really? I’ll have to see if mine will eat them. So far the only food scraps they like are tortilla chips and pumpkin seeds.
It’s such a waste to throw lemon peels away.. If I am deep cleaning my stainless steel sink, I pour salt on each half and scour away, rinse with cold water. Wipe dry. I polish the sink with lemon pledge when I’m done for a high gloss shine. I throw all peels into a plastic bag , and toss into freezer. Takes seconds to thaw and then reuse to scrub.
Haha .. if we froze all our citrus peels we’d need a separate freezer for them, and would never get them used up!! (we eat a lot of oranges and lemons and seldom clean eek!) Happy new year.
Do you think the ground or chopped peels might make moles leave a yard? They are terrible this year but I have to be careful what I use because my sweet old Frenche Bulldog rules the yard and I don’t want him digging up poison. I cannot use the traps – way too many moles in a big yard and my neighbors have moles too.
I’m not sure about the peels deterring moles. If you know where the holes are try putting some mint (bunches of it) in and around the holes. I’ve even heard of people blending the mint and pouring the puree down the holes. Most rodents don’t like mint.
harrolyn, i don’t think citrus would deter the moles, they are persistent little buggers! but garlic deters lots of insects in my garden, perhaps put a considerable amount of garlic cloves around (and maybe in) the tunnels you might see. let us know if it works!
Do you remove the pith from the peels for most of your projects?
I like making orange peel Candy.
All citrus make great candy that can also be used in dark chocolate bark or even dipped at one end for an elegant look. There are a few ways to make it. I boil the peels in simple sugar syrup (1:1) and drain. Then I roll them in sugar and let dry open for 24 hours. That’s it!
YES! I love candied orange peel! Now dip one end in dark chocolate after its candied. So, good, and healthy, too, even if it does have a lot of sugar. Store in an airtight container if you have any left.
I place peels in a mason jar and cover with water for 5 days then drain off the water and use it for cleaning. I sprinkle the oven or food burnt on my pots with baking soda then spray with my citrus water, wait a few minutes and wipe out the grime.
Thank you for the wonderful, and safe, solutions, that you provide, using natural products. Citrus peels, also make, ideal potpourri ingredients .
And, don’t forget that you can eat the citrus with the peel. I’ve frozen whole lemons and then grated them (don’t thaw) over salads, into drinks, and over baked chicken, for example. Tastes great!
@Deeama, Great idea! Thanks!!!
Candy peels for orange and grapefruit
Sugar and water to make a Syrup
Cool roll them up put tooth pick through them they are great
After reading you ideas for using citrus peels, I feel terrible for what we have used them for — fire starters. We dry them by our wood stove and throw a handful in when starting a fire. The oil in the skins always boast starting the fire.
Ooh that’s a great idea!
Thank you for the awesome tips how to use citrus peels…I can’t wait to try them! I recently made a batch of orange vinegar and wanted to ask if the vinegar-soaked orange peels can be thrown into the compost? Thank you for any advice!
I am not an expert on compost but I don’t usually throw anything with vinegar in my compost pile. Citrus peels take a long time to break down on their own, the vinegar would likely make it take even longer. Plus vinegar could have adverse effects on certain microbes and we know it kills plants so I’d want to make sure it was completely broken down and well before adding it to my garden…
Got it and thank you for your reply and the tip!
help – then what to do with the vibegar soaked peel after removing the liquid –
thanks
amps
There’s not much you can do with them. They won’t compost well, or it’ll take a super long time to compost. I just toss them at that point.
Since they compost so slowly, why not just keep throwing them back in until they are broken down? The less we throw out, the less that will end up in a landfill. They are a natural product and will eventually become “dirt”.
I break up my orange peels and put them in my sink hog (disposal). I get a burst of orange scent that fills my kitchen. I expect you could do the same with the vinegar peels. Would leave the hog smelling fresh.
Such a great idea!
I save up my citrus peels in the freezer, along with any whole fruits that have become a bit dried out, ones I’ve already squeezed the juice from and grapefruit halves we’ve enjoyed for breakfast, then use them to make delicious marmalade. Basically, substitute all peels for the normal weight of fruit (I use a pressure cooker to soften them) and proceed with your normal recipe. Satsuma, grapefruit and lemon is DEEElicious!
Lots of uses, here some new to me. I also make some Indian curry’s. I dehydrate lemons as well. I dont dehydrate bananas but I sometime use them in curry,s.
Preserved lemons are a staple to Moroccan cuisine. They are so easy to make.
Slice fine or satsumas or mandarin oranges …add to your chicken dishes…lemon chicken, orange chicken…stir fried with veggies too!
I have kept & used my citrus rinds for years. Always refreshing. This winter I tried keeping the thin mandarin orange peels for hot teas & find it also works well with my cold water bottles. I remove the pith from oranges since it gets bitter when reused. Thank you for the tips.
@Jean Carey Pith from satsumas is not bitter, one of the few citrus. We use the peel to make orangello, similar to limoncello. So easy since you use the entire skin.
@Carol, LOVE this idea! Thanks!!!!
If you’ve got rinds left over from juicing (like with some flesh attached), you can chop them a little, cover with an equal weight of sugar, stir occasionally, and after 12-24 hours you can strain it for a fabulous syrup! It would be great on ice cream, cheesecake, a spoon…
Thank you for sharing all your ideas on citrus peels. I have never tried any of these, but I will now. I am trying to be more conscious of what I am disposing of. These tips will be a great help!
In southern part of India, we mix the orange peels with rose petals and turmeric powder to Mungbean In blender – make it powdered and use as bath powder. It reduces Facial and body hair growth Leaving the skin hydrated.
Is it possible to dehydrate the citrus peels after being soaked in vinegar to use as fire starters?
I imagine so though I haven’t tried.
During the winter, I have a sauce pan sitting on my pilot light with used coffee grounds, citrus peals, and filled with water. This adds humidity, and nice scents throughout the home. I have also used coffee grounds only or citrus peels only. I have to refill the pan halfway through the day. I cut the citrus peels into 1/2″ pieces, as small as I can get them, before placing them in the pan. They decompose in the compost pile quicker this way.