Lunar New Year: 5 Ways to Use Leftover CNY Oranges At Home (2024)

FAQs

Lunar New Year: 5 Ways to Use Leftover CNY Oranges At Home? ›

Wash your orange skins well and simply grate the zest into salads, yogurt, cooked vegetables, or even on top of desserts. Apart from food, try blending the peel along with your favourite fruits to make a scrumptious smoothie!

Wash your orange skins well and simply grate the zest into salads, yogurt, cooked vegetables, or even on top of desserts. Apart from food, try blending the peel along with your favourite fruits to make a scrumptious smoothie!

You can make a natural cleaner for your home just using old oranges and vinegar. Cut off as much of the white part of the rind as possible, says Nate Masterson, head of natural product development for Maple Holistics. Then put the peels in a jar of vinegar and let it sit for two weeks, shaking the container once a day.

Do orange peels repel pests? They certainly do. While orange peels smell amazing to us, bugs don't care for their scent. Orange peels can help keep biting bugs away thanks to their fragrant citrus oils.

If they're still rolling around in your fridge, it's about time to get rid of them - but if you don't want to waste them, here's five ways you can use the peel around your house. 1. MAKE IT INTO A NATURAL INSECT REPELLENT. It's said that roaches, ants, and other pests can't stand the smell of orange oil.

Orange peel also contains good amounts of provitamin A, folate, riboflavin, thiamine, vitamin B6, and calcium ( 1 ). Plus, it's rich in plant compounds called polyphenols, which may help prevent and manage many chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and Alzheimer's disease ( 7 ).

Orange peels make a home smell cozy and clean. You can boil orange peels with mulling spices like cinnamon and cloves to send a fresh autumnal aroma through the air. Boiling orange peels with lemon and grapefruit peels create a fresh, vibrant, and energizing aroma that makes your house smell clean and pristine.

Many of our feathered friends love fruit, but can birds eat oranges? In short: Yes! Wild birds can absolutely eat slices of oranges. If you're looking to add a little citrus and vitamin C to your feeders or bird table, here's a quick guide.

Dried orange slices are the perfect eco-friendly addition to winter holiday decor, bringing a beautiful natural pop of color and cheer to your home – all for minimal cost and effort! Use them to adorn festive garlands, wreaths and centerpieces, or as ornaments, garnishes, in potpourri, and more.

Can you make a garland with mandarin oranges? ›

Cut a long piece of twine. String it through the hole of a mandarin slice and tie it off, leaving some tail on the twine. Keep adding mandarin slices until you reach the desired length. Hang it from your tree, wall, or mantle.

'Orange peels are great for your garden, as they can help to add nutrients to your soil – aiding in the growth and maintenance of your plants,' Laura explains.

Blood oranges scents are another great oil you can use to repel bed bugs! But since they are so expensive, it is best that you only buy small amounts for this purpose.

Placing bits of orange peel or zest around the garden repels flies and mosquitoes. Rubbing orange peel on the skin is a home remedy for preventing mosquito bites. It will smell wonderful and repel the mosquitoes with no side effects on human health.

Citrus. You may love the smell of fresh citrus, but co*ckroaches hate the scent. That means you can use citrus scented cleaners in your kitchen and bathroom to chase any lingering roaches away.

While this group of scientists never tested the dryer sheet's abilities with repelling mosquitoes, some speculate the technique could be applied to repelling certain mites, food-infesting beetles, weevils and German co*ckroaches. When it comes to mosquitoes, using dryer sheets to repel them is merely a possibility.

The best way to keep co*ckroaches away permanently is to make the home less inviting. Make sure to keep the home clean, clean up food messes, take out trash at the end of the day, seal any cracks or gaps around windows, doors and the foundation, and fix any issue that might lead to high moisture content within the home.

Scents that are pleasing to humans can actually repel co*ckroaches. In the kitchen, certain aromas such as cinnamon, bay leaves, garlic, peppermint, and coffee grounds can be used as deterrents. In the bathroom and garage, using strong-smelling disinfectants like vinegar or bleach can help keep these pests at bay.

Orange peels are a superb skincare ingredient for acne-prone skin. They house key minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium that promote youthful glow and smooth appearance. The peels can also renew dead cells and moisturize the skin.

Mandarin oranges contain potassium as well. Potassium lowers blood pressure by helping the body get rid of excess sodium (salt) and by easing tension in the walls of blood vessels. Along with potassium, mandarin oranges contain calcium and magnesium.

Can you boil orange peels and drink it? ›

Prepare a homemade beverage using boiled orange peels. Not only does the Orange Peel Tea taste amazing, but it's also naturally good for you because of the ingredients used to make it, such as honey, fresh-squeezed orange juice, saffron, and more.

Quite simply. The antioxidants contained in this citrus fruit help cleanse the arteries and lower cholesterol levels, so an orange peel tea with cinnamon is ideal for improving cardiovascular health and combating diseases such as hypertension.

However, Mohini Dongre, a senior dietitian, warned that orange peels contain synephrine that has been linked to cardiovascular system effects such as high blood pressure, irregular heart rhythms, a fast heart rate, fainting, heart palpitations, and chest tightness.

Orange peel waste, or OPW in the report, is recognized as “a rich source of vitamins and nutrients”. That's what makes it a difficult type of waste to dispose of. As the report notes, OPW is produced by the millions of tons, in many places across the globe. In landfills, organic waste creates methane gas.

But did you know the peel that you throw away after relishing oranges offers a million properties for good skin and hair? The fruit as well as its peel are rich in vitamin C, as well as several minerals and vitamins that work well as a cleaning agent, and solve almost all your common hair concerns.

Certain ripe or juicy fruits may attract hummingbirds. Hummingbirds have been known to discreetly sip the juices from berries, apples, pears, and oranges if they are peeled, cut open, or if the flesh is otherwise exposed.

Oranges, tangerines, and other citrus fruits are not toxic to dogs — but never feed them grapes or raisins. Oranges, tangerines, and clementines are not toxic to dogs (although not so great for cats, who may have an issue with citric acid).

In the summer, squirrels will feast on berries, fruits and succulents. Specifically, they enjoy fruits and vegetables like oranges, apricots, corn and avocados.

What do orange slices symbolize? ›

Why do people hang dried orange slices? Because they symbolize the sun and the returning light, dried orange slices are often strung together to make garlands, placed into evergreen wreaths, and hung upon the Yule or Christmas Tree to decorate during the winter holiday season.

These are just some of the things people think the powder covering the oranges is. However, it's not any of those, instead the white powder is believed to be a spray called Kaolin. Kaolin is made from clay and water and is sprayed onto fruit trees in order to protect them from sunburn and insects.

They're Said to Represent a Gift of Gold from Saint Nicholas

One theory behind the tradition of oranges in the stocking stems from the generosity of Saint Nicholas (also known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and Old Saint Nick), who was the son of a wealthy merchant and later in life a bishop.

Pack the oranges tightly into canning jars, leaving at least 1/2 inch head-space. Pour boiling syrup over oranges, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Remove air with a canning knife, wipe rims, and adjust 2-piece lids to finger tightness. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes for both pints and quarts.

Recipe FAQs

The best way to dry oranges is to cut them into slices and then place them on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet in the oven at 200°F (93°C) for 4 hours. Turn off the heat but leave the door closed.

The pungent smell of orange peels can help deter some pests and rodents away from the plants,' Kevin explains.

According to HomeTipsWorld and their article here, ants really do hate orange peel. Specifically: Did you know, mix orange peels and water, spray the solution outside your home, will prevent ants from coming in. Similar thing goes for using orange peels to keep flies away.

Orange Peels

Many insects are averse to citrus smells, but drawn to sugar. That's why you want to stick to only using the peels — the juice of the orange could attract more insects than the citrus can repel! Simply rub the peel on spaces you think insects might be invading, such as a windowsill or cabinet.

Peppermint

One of the most researched solutions for keeping bed bugs away is peppermint. This plant can provide a smell which bed bugs and other pests hate. The scent will drive any pest which will keep your home pest-free and fresh at the same time.

These include the scent of fresh mint, rubbing alcohol, tea tree oil, lavender, and lemon juice. Not to mention, some of these items can also kill bed bugs and prevent them from laying eggs.

What bugs hate the smell of orange? ›

It's said that roaches, ants, and other pests can't stand the smell of orange oil. You can even use it to get rid of aphids! Here's how to make a natural repellent that'll keep them away: Peel the orange rinds off from the fruit, removing as much of the white inner portion as possible with a small knife.

To reduce the possibility of a mosquito biting you, you could consider wearing white, green or blue. Lighter colors are less interesting to mosquitos than darker shades like navy and black, red or orange. However, clothing color alone is unlikely to keep mosquitos away for good.

Mosquitoes hate the smell of lavender, citronella, clove, peppermint, basil, cedarwood, eucalyptus, peppermint, lemongrass and rosemary. They also hate smells such as smoke, for further insight, see our exploration on, does smoke keep mosquitoes away?

Tomatoes, beans, and lentils as well as other foods rich in thiamine are said to release a smell that repels mosquitoes and other bugs. Grapefruit, oranges, and lemons are all citrus fruits that mosquitoes apparently aren't fond of smelling.

Boric acid Some people find this to be the best option to kill roaches. Boric acid can work too, the only downside is that sometimes roaches will go away as soon as they smell boric acid.

They particularly like starches, sweets, greasy foods, and meats, but roaches are not picky eaters. They'll feast on almost anything that is derived from something that was once a living organism, such as plants and animals.

co*ckroaches are attracted to your home by the smell of food. They are most attracted to starch, sugar, grease, meat, and cheese. Rotting fruits and vegetables can also give off a very pungent smell that will definitely attract these pests.

You can boil orange peels with mulling spices like cinnamon and cloves to send a fresh autumnal aroma through the air.

Citrus peels are a woefully underused part of the fruit that are completely edible and delicious.

Orange is a common winter fruit and is packed with the benefits of vitamin C. But the peel which we throw away generously are also packed with nutrients and are extremely healthy. Drinking orange peel tea is one of the easiest ways to boost your immunity.

What is orange peels soaked in vinegar good for? ›

According to health experts, the peel of an orange is the healthiest part of the entire fruit. It is said that orange peels are rich in flavonoids and many other essential phytochemicals, which offer numerous health benefits. The peel also contains calcium, magnesium, folate, vitamin A and B.

Oranges and Other Citrus

Oranges, kumquats, tangerines and pomelos are common Chinese New Year food gifts because they're believed to bring good luck and happiness. The Chinese words for orange and tangerine closely resemble the words for luck and wealth.

Next time you snack on an orange and eat a bit of the pith, don't worry; this natural part of the fruit is edible and good for you.

STORE. They may be stored in a cool, dark spot for a few days, but ideally should be refrigerated to extend shelf life up to 2 weeks.

They will typically last up to 1-2 weeks when kept in a cool dry place in a single layer. If you haven't eaten all of your mandarins within 1-2 weeks (which is nearly impossible because they are so yummy), place them in the refrigerator to extend their shelf life by a few more days.