Orange Peel Glossary |Health Benefit + Recipes with Orange Peel

Description

During the earliest days of orange cultivation, orange peels were more prized than the often bitter fruit they protected. The essential oils extracted from orange peels were often used in medicines for indigestion and other maladies. The fruit is commonly peeled and eaten fresh, or squeezed for its juice. It is also used in certain recipes as flavouring or a garnish.

Chopped orange peel

Using a vegetable peeler or knife peel the orange, taking care so that you do not remove the pith inside and only the top layer of the orange is peeled. With the help of a sharp knife cut the orange peel into small or big pieces, as per your recipes requirement.

How to Select
Choose bright orange coloured firm orange, to use at home. Also, it is readily available in food markets, plain or candied. Choose accordingly.

Culinary Uses
· Cooks during the middle Ages were more likely to use dried orange peels as seasonings than to serve the fruit or the juice.
· Orange peels are used as dried seasoning.
· Dried orange peels can also be sprinkled as a garnish.
· Orange peels can be boiled in sugar water until they become nearly translucent. Once allowed to dry, or placed in a food dehydrator, the candied orange peels can be eaten as a snack or combined with other dried fruits as an unusual salad.

How to Store
It is best stored in an air tight jar, in freeze. Keep away from moisture.

Health Benefits
· Orange Peel contains a compound called polymethoxylated flavones (PMFs), that has been increasingly linked to guard against cancer, heart disease and inflammation
· It's very rich in fiber! Regulates your GI tract.
· A fruit shake with a whole orange peel, half banana and a yogurt and some milk, is quite refreshing.
· The peel of orange has proven medicinal value, mainly for digestive problems, stomach aches and high blood pressure. Some cultures use bitter orange peel as an anti-spasmodic.
· In traditional oriental medicine, the bitter orange peel is used for indigestion, abdominal pain, constipation, and dysenteric diarrhea.
· Outside of the kitchen, there are a surprising number of uses for orange peels.
· The essential oils found in orange peels are also used as insect repellents.
· Rubbing orange peels powder directly on the skin is said to be an effective for acne.

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