If you’ve ever found yourself with too many oranges, consider yourself lucky. Cara cara, navel, valencia, blood — they’re all perfect for snacking, dressing up a salad, and making orange juice. But after you’ve enjoyed the fruit, don’t toss the peel! 

Indeed, the orange peels (also called orange rinds) have just as many uses (if not more) as the fruit inside. From brightening up dishes to infusing drinks, the orange peel is a versatile, dynamic ingredient that deserves its own time in the spotlight. 

How to use orange peels in food and drinks

Orange peels are divided into two parts: the zest and the pith. The zest is the brightly colored outermost layer of the peel, and the pith is the white, spongy layer right below that. Unlike lemons, whose pith tends to be extremely bitter, oranges have a more milder, sometimes even slightly sweet pith, which means you can use the entire peel in certain preparations. 

1. Candy them

Candying is an easy and delicious way to use up orange peels. You can enjoy candied orange peels as a sweet treat on their own, or use them as a garnish for pastries, cakes, and desserts. They also make great gifts.

The basic steps to candy peels are: 

1. Remove the entire peel — pith and all — from your oranges. 

2. Slice them into uniform strips about a quarter of an inch wide. 

3. Simmer the orange peels in a one-to-one ratio of sugar and water in a pot on the stove top for 20-40 minutes, depending on the amount of orange peels you have.

4. Use tongs to transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

5. Toss them in some granulated sugar and return them to the wire rack to cool on the counter at room temperature for another day or so. 

And that’s it! You now have homemade candied orange peels that’ll be good for two months, ready to be eaten or given away. 

2. Zest them

Orange zest has plenty of uses in both food and drinks. Generally, you’ve got two options when it comes to zesting: grating or strips. 

To grate the zest of an orange, simply run a grater along the peel and remove the outermost orange part, doing your best not to pick up too much of the white pith underneath. Orange zest can be used in any dish — sweet or savory — where you want to amp up the orange flavor. Need some ideas?

Top sweets with grated zest

Grated orange zest is a great addition to fruit pies, cakes, and orange curd, a thick cream made from orange juice, sugar, egg yolks, and butter. Use some previously stored zest or grate them directly atop your sweets and enjoy it fresh.

Marinate proteins and brighten side dishes

For savory dishes, you can grate orange zest into salad dressings, marinades for fish or richer proteins like lamb, or into roast vegetable dishes for an extra layer of flavor. The brightness of the orange zest is a great compliment to more meaty, savory notes. And, because orange zest is so fine, it’s a great way to add flavor without messing with the texture of a dish. 

Garnish drinks

Upgrade your cocktails and mocktails with a colorful addition. Using a vegetable peeler, peel away strips of zest. Just like with grating, do your best to avoid picking up any pith underneath. Strips of orange zest can be added to cocktails as is, or, with a little advanced planning, you can wrap the strips around wooden skewers and let them dry for a couple of hours for a fun, fancy twist. 

3. Use them to soften brown sugar 

Ever found yourself with rock-hard brown sugar on your hands? It’s a nearly universal problem for home bakers. Brown sugar hardens after it’s opened because it contains molasses, and molasses tends to dry out very quickly once exposed to air. Throwing an orange peel into your container of brown sugar will soften up the sugar in just a couple of hours — without making your brown sugar taste like orange. 

All you need to do is take your orange peel, ensuring there’s no fruit left on it, toss it in with your brown sugar, seal up the container, and wait. An orange peel reintroduces moisture into the container without making anything actually wet, which softens your brown sugar so it’s easy to use the next time you need it. 

4. Infuse… anything? 

Strips of orange zest can be used to infuse anything from alcohol to olive oil — it just depends what you’re in the mood for. Similar to how you can use lemon peels to make limoncello, you can use orange zest to make orangecello. 

You can also gently simmer orange peel in olive oil to create a delicious, citrusy infused oil for dressings, marinades, or roasting meats and vegetables. Don’t be afraid to throw a little garlic or other herbs in, too. The more flavors, the merrier. 

How to use orange peels in your household

Leftover orange peels aren’t just delicious. They can also be welcome additions to your cleaning routines, keeping things smelling fresh and shining bright. 

5. Make a cleaning spray

Like lemon peels, orange peels have sanitizing properties, so they can make for a great smelling cleaning spray. Submerge orange peels in white vinegar for a few days to infuse the vinegar with a citrus scent, making for a crisp sanitizing spray. After a few days, transfer the solution to a spray bottle and top it off with a little bit of water. It can be used to clean cutting boards, microwaves, the sink — pretty much every surface in the kitchen (and outside of it, too). 

6. Deodorize your garbage disposal 

If you’ve got funky smells coming from your sink, chances are the garbage disposal is to blame. Citrus peels can help with that. Chop up a few orange peels and distribute them evenly across an ice cube tray. Then, cover with water and freeze. The next time you need to deodorize your disposal, just put a cube or two down there and turn it on. The ice will help break off any stuck gunk, and the peels will leave behind a fresh orange scent. 

7. Keep bugs away 

Orange peels contain limonene, a natural chemical that is toxic to insects but harmless to plants and animals. You can make a simple bug spray by simmering a few orange peels in a cup of water for ten minutes, then straining the liquid and keeping it in a spray bottle. You can use this spray around the house or even on your skin to keep bugs away. 

How to use orange peels in your personal care routine

Orange peels have plenty of applications outside of the kitchen, too. From body scrubs to essential oils and beyond, there are plenty of reasons to keep your orange peels handy. 

8. Make essential oils

Making orange essential oil is pretty straightforward, but it does take a little bit of time. First, you need dried orange peels. Dry them on the counter top, not in a dehydrator, which would destroy the natural oils. (This will take two to three days). Then break them up into small pieces and soak them in vodka or another grain alcohol. After about a week, strain the liquid and let it sit uncovered for at least a week. This allows all the alcohol to evaporate, leaving you with therapeutic, homemade orange essential oil. 

9. Body scrub

The citric acid in orange peel is good for your skin. Orange peels can be combined with a variety of other ingredients to make face, feet, and body scrubs. Depending on what you want to use it for, the ingredients will vary. For face scrubs, you might combine orange peel with soothing honey and oatmeal. For a foot scrub, you can combine orange peel with sugar and salt. No matter what you use, the way you prep the orange peel will be the same: Just as you would for essential oils, let the peels dry out on the counter until brittle. Then, blitz them in a blender or food processor and mix them with your other ingredients.

10.  Bath time

If you’re looking for a less involved way to use orange peels in your self-care routine, consider incorporating them into a bath. Place an orange peel (either whole or just strips of zest) into a warm bath, sit back, and enjoy the calming, bright aroma of orange. You can also place the peels in a drawstring cloth bag to make it easier to dispose of them when you’re done. 

Reduce food waste with Mill

From infusing your bath to making a cleaning spray, you’ve done almost everything with your orange peels. Now what? Throw what’s leftover from the fruit directly into a Mill food recycler. Mill will recycle your food scraps and turn them into dry grounds that can be used in your garden, so they won’t end up in a landfill, where they will emit methane.

Sources:

1. Journal of King Saud University - Science: “Potential application of waste fruit peels (orange, yellow lemon and banana) as wide range natural antimicrobial agent.” January 7, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1018364718308504

2. Industrial Crops and Products: “Extraction and purification of d-limonene from orange peel wastes: Recent advances.” January 5, 2022. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926669021012498