Our grocer is finally carrying organic oranges, so I have been saving the peels and dehydrating them.
This is a first for me. I've never dehydrated the peels due to not having access to organic oranges. My plan is to use them for recipes for now. We use orange peel in our hot cranberry punch, and now that I am making more teas, I think it would be nice to have some on hand for tea making.
I plan. . .
to grind some of these into orange powder for homemade beauty products and for baking. I could even sprinkle some ground orange powder over salads this summer.
To dry these peels in my dehydrator, I used the "herb" setting, or 95°F. I forgot to time it, but it didn't take too long.
I don't use potpourri around the house, but I may consider putting a pan of water on top of the wood stove and adding the peels (if we get an excess of peels).
In anticipation of warmer weather, I am collecting more iced tea recipes. I can't wait to try a Orange-Earl Grey Iced tea recipe from Eating Well. It uses orange peel.
Another recipe for us to try - Orange Peel Tea
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