I threw away orange peels for thirty years. Every morning, peel goes in the trash without a second thought. Then my grandmother visited and saw me do it. The look on her face — like I had just thrown away a twenty-dollar bill. She was right.

Why You Should Stop Tossing Citrus Peels

Citrus peels contain more concentrated flavor and aromatic oils than the fruit inside. They are basically free ingredients you have been throwing out. Once you start keeping them, you find uses everywhere.

“In my kitchen, nothing goes to waste. The peel is the best part.” — My grandmother, who lived through the Depression and never unlearned the habit.

What to Do With Them

Make citrus vinegar cleaner. Pack peels into a jar, cover with white vinegar, wait two weeks. Strain. You now have a degreasing cleaner that smells like oranges instead of salad dressing.

Dry them for tea. Lay peels on a baking sheet at 200°F for two hours. Crumble into loose leaf tea or just steep in hot water with honey. Orange peel tea is my winter go-to when I want something warm that is not coffee.

Infuse sugar or salt. Bury lemon peels in a jar of sugar for a week. The sugar pulls out the oils. Now your sugar tastes like lemon. Great for baking or rimming cocktail glasses.

Garbage disposal refresh. Drop a handful of peels into the disposal with some ice cubes. The ice sharpens the blades and the peels deodorize everything.

How to Store Them

If you are going to use them within three days, just keep them in a sealed container in the fridge. For longer storage, dry them completely and store in an airtight jar. I keep a jar of dried orange peels next to my tea and another jar of lemon peels next to my cleaning supplies.

The one thing I learned the hard way: if you are going to eat or drink the peels, wash the fruit before you peel it. Pesticide residue and wax coatings are not ingredients you want in your tea.