If You Toss Your Orange Peels, You’re Wasting Your Money

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Are you squandering your citruses? If you eat the tasty fruit and trash the peels, then the answer is a resounding yes.

Fruits like lemons, grapefruits, limes, tangerines, and oranges contain nutrients that keep you cancer and sniffle-free. But by throwing away their rinds, you might as well be tossing your hard-earned money in the garbage. Those peels are chock-full of deliciously fragrant oils that have many surprising uses, according to Southern Living.

First off, consider infusing your water, oil, vinegar, or alcohol with a splash of citrusy flavor. For oil, vinegar, and spirits, all you need to do is toss the peels into a bottle or container, seal it up, and place it in a cool, dark place for one to two weeks. Adding strips of rinds to a pitcher of water and leaving it in the fridge overnight has the same effect. Check out even more unexpected ways orange peels are way more useful than you think.

You can also use your leftover rinds as cheap (yet fragrant!) air fresheners. To dry them, use a dehydrator, or toss them in the oven at the lowest setting for at least 20 minutes. Then, combine them in a small pot or pantyhose for a quick way to freshen up your space and eliminate any odors.

One last tip: By saving the peels of six to eight citrus fruits, you can make homemade oleo-saccharum, the flavorful ingredient found in many cocktail recipes. Just place the rinds in a bowl with sugar for a few hours, and voilà—you just upgraded your liquor cabinet.

[Source: Southern Living]