#citrus tips

[balkanradfem]

Do you know of any good uses for orange or clementine peels? This time of year my family tends to give and receive oranges/clementines, and I’d like some more fun uses for the peels other than stuffing them in the compost. I have some dried and ready to store. What do you think, should I use them in tea?

okay so I don't know about tea, because when you boil them in hot water, they will let out the bitterness, and it won't taste as much orange-y, but acidic and bitter. (EDIT: you can make tea if you just cut out orange zest and dry it! someone mentioned it in the comments)

I can think of few things you can do with orange peels:

make candied citrus peels (recipe)

cut out stars, moons and flowers and use them as holiday ornaments and decorations after they dry (they can last for a long time inside)

put them in a jar and cover with vinegar to make orange-scented cleaning liquid

dry them up and keep them in a jar for future use (infusions or scent mixes)

Here's a link to other citrus tips I wrote

Here's a website with more ideas

[balkanradfem]

Citrus tips!

If you have more lemons than you can use at once, here’s what you can do before they go bad:

grate the outer skin of the lemons, put in a bag, freeze! Now you have grated lemon anytime you need it for desserts or cakes.

squeeze the lemon juice out, pour it into ice-cube containers, freeze. Once they’re frozen, take them out and put them in a plastic bag and into the freezer. You can stash unlimited lemon juice this way, and whenever you want a lemonade, just take few cubes and put into a glass of water

seeds can be peeled and planted, for a nice little lemon tree! It’s not gonna make good lemons unless you graft it, but the leaves are very beneficial for clearing up your air, and can be used for tea making! They’re also very beautiful to have on windowsills

Instead of grating, you can also make sugared lemon or orange peels! It only takes cutting them up in stripes, boiling for half hour, to take out the sourness, then boiling in a mix of sugar and water! You dry them afterwards and you made candy.

Other citruses

You can use orange peels for sweetening and adding taste to all your tomato-based sauces

If you have oranges or a similar citrus, and you want to use the peels for a project, but can’t eat all that citrus at once, you can peel it away, then wrap it tightly with a plastic bag, or any airtight wrap. I tried this with a tangerine and an orange and after 3 days in the fridge, they were exactly same as if I had only peeled them that second

You can use citrus peels to infuse any liquid with their scent! You can make citrus-smelling infusion of vinegar and use it as a cleaning liquid, just leave the peels submerged for a few months

Do not throw your citrus peels away! If you can’t use them right away, leave them on top of a heater or a radiator to dry, and they’re good for anytime.

[cookplatefork]

Zesty Magic: Elevating Your Dishes with the Power of Citrus

Zesty Magic: Elevating Your Dishes with the Power of Citrus

[dailysqueezeblog]

Clean the Microwave with Lemon 

Citrus works miracles on a dirty microwave. Fresh lemons create a steamy environment that cuts through grease and grime. Just let the lemon do its work and then wipe the walls and turntable clean.

SUPPLIES: 1 microwave-safe bowl ½ cup water 2 Paramount Citrus lemons, halved Clean, dry rag

PREPARATION

1. Place the water in the bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lemon halves into the bowl and then add the squeezed lemons to the bowl.

2. Microwave the bowl on high for 3 to 4 minutes, until the water comes to a boil. Do not open the door. Let the bowl sit in the microwave for 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Open the microwave and remove the bowl. Use the rag to wipe out the microwave.