Tip of the Week: Dry Your Own Orange Peel

Last week, as I was buying the ingredients for my rye bread, I saw a little packet of dried organic orange peel for sale. I think it cost around 2.50 Euro, which isn't all that bad. A little orange peel goes a long way, right?

Then I started thinking about it. How long has that orange peel been sitting in it's little packet? And why would I spend 2.50 for dried peel, when I can buy a whole organic orange for fifty cents?

I bought my orange, headed home, and devoured it. Then I chopped up a little corner of the peel to use in the recipe. And I stood there looking at the rest of the peel sitting on the counter. I'm already chopping, I thought, why not just keep going and dry it myself?

It really is as easy as it sounds. Actual working time was less than 5 minutes, and now I have a little jar on my counter with enough dried orange peel to last me for months.



To make your own:

Take an organic orange - you don't want all the pesticides and wax from a normal one, trust me - and cut the peel off carefully with a sharp knife. You want to cut close to the surface of the peel, leaving as much white pith behind as you can. (You can see in the photos that I just peeled mine normally, but I really shouldn't have. The pith is more bitter than the orange part of the skin.)

Chop the peel finely, spread it on a baking sheet, and let it dry in a 200° Farenheit oven until it is dry but still a bit flexible. It should take around 20 minutes, depending on how finely you chopped it.