Orange Peel Uses, Culinary and Non-culinary
Santre kaa Chilka
Mamta Gupta
Next time you peel an orange, think of what you can do with the peel before you chuck it into the bin. Most of the uses of orange peel are due to the essential oil Limonene, 90% of the oil present in its peel.
Ingredients
Fresh oranges
A sharp knife or a zest maker for peeling zest from the orange skins
Instructions
To dry and store the skin, leave skins or zest on a clean towel on your kitchen top. It will dry within 5-7 days.
Use as a herb in food. Dry and store the zest and use it to flavour desserts as well as soups, stews, curries and other foods.
Use in a face mask; Face Pack.
Zested peel can be added to a pot or mug of tea to get and orange flavoured tea.
Flavouring for desserts
Place a few peels with olive oil and leave for a few days to get orange flavoured oil.
Place a piece in a jar of brown sugar to stop it from hardening
In face packs as ground paste or powder
Fresh skin rubbed on skin to repel mosquitoes
Incense 1: Burn with Havan/Hawan (a type of Hindu prayer) Samgaree (a mix of Indian incense used on Havan fire)
Incense 2: Burn on a coal or wood fire. Oils in its skin help to get the fire going.
Air freshener; simmer in water or sprinkle on a burning coal
Cat repellent: Spread a few peels in the flower beds where you don?t want cats to go. They don?t like its smell.
As a last resort, add it to your compost bin, if you don?t already.
