# Drying orange and lemon peel



## Fae (Mar 9, 2005)

I have stopped buying orange juice and now squeeze it fresh. That leaves a lot of peels that I hate to throw away. I also don't use a lot of lemons at one time but would like to squeeze several and freeze the juice and dry the peels. I have not done this before and wondered if any of you could offer some advice.


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

What do you plan on using the dried peels for? The dried peels loose a lot of their essential oils, which is where a lot of the flavor comes from. 

I've found that any recipe that calls for citrus zest - I'm better off using frozen peel. I just take the zest off the fruit with a vegetable peeler, and place in the freezer in ziploc bags.

I do dehydrate lemons and oranges, then grind them up with a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt - to make lemon dust or orange dust. In that case, I slice thin, place in my dehydrator until crispy dry. Then grind in my coffee/spice grinder.


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## Calico Katie (Sep 12, 2003)

Fae said:


> I have stopped buying orange juice and now squeeze it fresh. That leaves a lot of peels that I hate to throw away. I also don't use a lot of lemons at one time but would like to squeeze several and freeze the juice and dry the peels. I have not done this before and wondered if any of you could offer some advice.


You could make candied orange or lemon peels. I've never tasted them but they sound so Christmasy that I thought they'd be fun to make and give for presents. They sound pretty simple to make but use a lot of sugar. You can google for instructions.

Here's one link. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-candied-orange-and-lemon-peel


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## Fae (Mar 9, 2005)

Thanks PixieLou. I had thought I would slice and dry some of the lemons but once I squeeze the oranges that is no longer possible. Wonder is I could make orange essential oil with the peels?


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## BillHoo (Mar 16, 2005)

The key ingredient in Chinese Orange Beef is sun-dried tangerine or clementine peels.

They turn dark and take on a slightly citrousy-bitter flavor that is the flavor note for a few chinese recipes.

But you don't need much. Just a thumb-sized patch thrown in while cooking is enough to add that flavor note.


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## Fae (Mar 9, 2005)

Calico Katie, I remember watching Martha Stewart do those on one of her shows a year of so ago. The only problem with doing them is that my DH is a diabetic who has no self control when it comes to food so I have to watch what he eats to a certain extent. BillHoo, I have not heard of Chinese Orange Beef but sometimes I like to try new things as long as it is not to complicated. The older I get the less I enjoy cooking and cleaning the kitchen. Do you have a recipe?


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Fae said:


> Thanks PixieLou. I had thought I would slice and dry some of the lemons but once I squeeze the oranges that is no longer possible. Wonder is I could make orange essential oil with the peels?


Hi Fae. I do a lot of baking and lemon and orange zest make wonderful additions to cookies and cakes.

I would zest the fruit before slicing and then freeze the zested rind. That way you can have both the zest and the fruit. 

stef


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## Fae (Mar 9, 2005)

That is what I was thinking because I use it in pound cakes. I will give it a try. Thanks for the help.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Spread the zest on a cookie sheet and freeze, that way it won't be all clumped together.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

YuM! Check out theis blog post on drying lemons and oranges.
http://kidsandcanningjars.blogspot.com/


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Fae said:


> That is what I was thinking because I use it in pound cakes. I will give it a try. Thanks for the help.


Oh yes, it's delicious in pound cake. Either the lemon or the orange zest.

I make a sour cream coffee cake and add orange zest, some dried cranberries and semi-sweet chocolate chips. The flavor of this cake improves with standing, and it freezes very well.


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

BillHoo said:


> The key ingredient in Chinese Orange Beef is sun-dried tangerine or clementine peels.
> 
> They turn dark and take on a slightly citrousy-bitter flavor that is the flavor note for a few chinese recipes.
> 
> But you don't need much. Just a thumb-sized patch thrown in while cooking is enough to add that flavor note.


Oh you are a kidder!

Please give us the recipe, pretty please!


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

Also-note for food but right now I have a glut of peels thus I dry them and add to my firestarter scraps--work great.


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## BillHoo (Mar 16, 2005)

kenworth said:


> Oh you are a kidder!
> 
> Please give us the recipe, pretty please!



I wish I had paid attention to my father as he cooked! My mother still uses them. She keeps the peels hanging over the window sill in a plastic, net, onion bag. Some of the peels are over a decade old. The older the better. 

I need to document the family recipes. My father passed away this summer.

Here are some references though:

http://www.mightysweet.com/mesohungry/2011/01/04/dried-tangerine-peels-chinese-cookbooks/

http://www.chinese-food-recipes.net/glossary_of_ingredients/dried_tangerine_peel.html

This looks close to a recipe my dad would make:
http://www.cooking-china.com/chines...beef_tenderloin_wth_dried_tangerine_peel.html


This looks good too and uses both dried tangerine peel and fresh orange zest cut in strips.
http://www.feedingthedragon.com/blog/2012/1/23/lucky-year-of-the-dragon-recipe-tangerine-beef.html


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## Groene Pionier (Apr 23, 2009)

I only use organic oranges and lemons to dehydrate. I use them in cooking like when I make a fish package to steam in the oven I put in a couple of dehydrated slizes. I also make some nice lemonade with them, during hot summer months...
Xant


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

what about dried peel soaked for days in vokka, as a flavoring.


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