How many orange peels have you thrown out recently? We eat oranges all the time, so I’m kicking myself for not realizing the potential in those fruit rinds. Use orange peels to make your own cleaners, infuse your foods with orange, or make your home smell fresh.
You can do so much! Here are 15 orange peel uses you need to try immediately!
Ways to Use Orange Peel You’d Never Thought Of!
1. Extend Christmas With This Orange Peel Trick
How would you like to extend the most wonderful time of the year without all the flurry? It’ll smell like Christmas in your home when you simmer this Christmas Spice potpourri made from dried orange peels, cinnamon sticks, and dried cloves.
This Christmas-y scent will have your entire house smelling amazing and like the holidays. In fact, it smells so good that people might not even see the dirty dishes in the sink.
2. Citrus Peel Tip To Brilliantly Rock Any Party
Do you want to skip out on the headache of missing, disposable cups or countless dish-washing rounds after throwing down a rocking party? Cut your orange peels into wedges and make Jello orange wedges to easily and conveniently serve Jello at your party.
This can be a colorful and festive party idea for kids and family parties by filling the orange peels with their favorite gelatin flavor. Adult parties will love this as a form of jello shots.
3. Use Orange Peels For This Genius Tool
Cupcakes are a favorite at my house. Problem is, I only have one 12-cupcakes baking tray. Imagine my excitement when I discovered this orange peel hack! Now we can infuse cupcakes with a little bit of orange flavor by using the orange peels as cupcake liners. This also means we get to bake more cupcakes in one batch because we can use regular baking trays.
All you need to make muffins or cupcakes in orange peels is: oranges, cake batter or muffin mix of your choice, a paring knife and a cupcake pan!
4. Citrus Hack That Stops Brown Sugar From Hardening
Keep your brown sugar soft by adding an orange peel to the bag. The oils slowly released helps the sugar retain its moisture. Make sure the orange peel is clean and free of pulp when you put in the orange peels and be sure to replace them at least once a month.
Here’s more tips to keep that brown sugar soft, thanks to a trusty old orange peel!
5. Make Incredible Kindling From Orange Peels
Planning to go camping? Start saving your dried waste orange peels early enough to easily check firestarters/ kindling off your camping checklist. Orange peels make excellent fire starters due to the peel’s high oil content.
I also think your campfire is going to smell even more amazing than usual!
6. Reuse Orange Peels For A Fun Kids Project
Halve your oranges. Remove the flesh and take care to leave a little of the pith in the peel (like a candle wick), pour some olive oil in, and you have yourself an orange peel candle. Slightly coat the tip of the pith with olive oil.
Don’t douse it, otherwise, it won’t light. The candles don’t really serve a practical purpose, but they sure are pretty plus it will keep your kids busy with this quick and fun citrus hack DIY project.
7. Zest Without Using A Microplaner? I’m Sold!
I could kick myself for throwing out peels for so long when I could have used them to make powdered zest to use in recipes. Gently clean your oranges and wipe them dry. Using a sharp knife, peel the colored layer also known as the zest. Sun-dry them on a clean surface for at least 2 days or for as long as you’ll need.
The orange peels have to be completely dry, otherwise, you’ll have a hard time grinding them. Grind them into a powder and you now have powdered zest you can use in the exact same way you’d use fresh zest in your recipes. This is one of the neatest orange peel uses and your recipes will be delicious!
8. Clever Orange Peel Use For Tree Ornaments
Here’s another fun project the kids can participate in while saving you money. Making an orange peel garland to adorn your tree this year.
For this project, you’ll need:
- Fresh oranges
- Various shaped cookie cutters
- Knife
- Thread
- Scissors
- Nail or something to punch holes in the cut orange shapes
Peel the oranges and make sure no pulp remains on them. Show the kids how to push the cookie cutters through the orange peels and let them have fun creating the shapes. Once you’ve had all the pieces you need, punch holes in all the pieces, and run a strong thread through them to make your garland.
The orange peels dry out and harden after a few weeks and you should have no problem storing them year after year. When not in use, store in a dry and dark area.
9. Make Natural Furniture Polish
Another of the many unique orange peel uses is to make natural furniture polish for pennies, which is way better than what you’d have bought. Make a batch of homemade orange oil. For this, you’ll need an insane amount of oranges though you need to worry.
Place a box in your kitchen specifically for collecting orange peels and you’ll have a sizable collection in no time, especially during the orange season.
To prepare your peels for drying, remove as much pith as you can. Let them dry out, then break them up into small pieces. Place the bits into a mason jar then pour in the cheapest vodka you can find to cover all the peels. Close the jar and give the jar a good shake for several minutes. Next, set aside your mason jar and repeat this last process several times daily for at least 7 days.
Once the vodka starts extracting oils from the orange peels, you’ll notice a tint in the liquid in your mason jar. Use a cheesecloth or coffee filter to sieve and separate the peels from the liquid, making sure you squeeze out the cloth to get all the liquid. Transfer the liquid back to the jar, cover it with only a paper towel, and set it in a place it can’t be easily knocked over. This last step allows all the vodka to evaporate leaving you with your homemade orange oil. It’s wonderful for polishing furniture… so fragrant!
10. Fancy Candied Orange Peels
Halloween probably isn’t the only time you’ve run out of candy. There those days when the craving for something sweet strikes and you’re better prepared to have homemade candies on standby. Candied orange peels are delicious. Have you ever tried them?
Prep time which consists of chopping up the orange peels into 1/4″ wide strips, blanching them, simmering in syrup, and rolling in sugar is roughly 25 minutes. Though optional, dipping in molten chocolate makes them fancier. However, allow yourself an extra 5 hours for the candy to dry.
11. Peel-infused Cleaning Agent
Raise up your hand if you love vinegar for cleaning but can’t stand its pungent odor?
Yup. That’s me too.
Enter the DIY citrus vinegar cleaner, a green cleaning recipe that you shouldn’t do without. All the goodness of having a vinegar cleaner without the odor no one really cares for.
For this citrus peel hack, all you need is a mason jar, orange peels, white vinegar, and time for the infusion to happen. Fill the mason jar with your orange peels, then pour in white vinegar to completely cover the peels. Close your mason jar tightly and place it in a dark place for up to 4 weeks.
You’ll know it’s ready once the orange peels have infused the vinegar with their natural scent and color. Strain the peels and your DIY orange peels vinegar cleaner is ready for its many uses.
12. Leftover Citrus Fruit Garbage Disposal Cleaner
You’ve probably been sorry for having left some smelly food bits in your garbage disposal. I’ve been there too and thankfully, I had a stash of homemade cleaning cubes in the freezer.
All I did was run them through the garbage disposal to freshen it up. Here’s how we made our garbage disposal cleaner using citrus fruits and vinegar!
13. Orange Peel Hack For Shiny Sink
Here’s an orange peel use your stainless steel sink will be grateful for.
Make sure your kitchen sink is cleared of all dishes as well as food scraps from the drain. Sprinkle it with baking soda and working in a circular motion, clean using a soft sponge. Then give it a rinse with vinegar, a natural disinfectant that also helps remove hard water stains from your stainless steel sink.
Next, rinse the sink with clean water before using an orange peel to scrub your sink. Not only will it freshen it up, but it’ll help it retain its shine after you clean it, too.
14. Natural Bug & Pet Deterrent
Apart from composting, use orange peels to make a natural bug and pet deterrent spray.
Boil the orange peels and allow them to cool before pouring the liquid into a spray bottle. Orange peels contain limonene, a natural chemical, and the pesticide that destroys the waxy coating found on bugs, causing them to suffocate and die. This natural bug repellent is also safe to use in your kitchen to keep away insects such as roaches, fleas, fire ants, silverfish, and flies. Use the same spray and orange peels to deter and train cats. They really dislike the citrus smell.
Bits of orange peels placed in the garden keep pests such as flies and mosquitoes at bay while rubbing orange peel on the skin is a home remedy to prevent yourself from nasty mosquito bites.
15. Orange Peel Air Freshener
Clear out any musty and damp smells from your home using this eco-friendly DIY orange peel hack. Fill half an orange peel with rock salt to absorb bad odors in your home. Keep your home smelling fresh for several weeks!
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