Turning orange peel into a cleaning agent

1. How to ensure oranges stay fresh for longer? 

Oranges should not be stacked on top of each other, otherwise they will quickly go mouldy. If you plan to eat them within three days, you can store them at room temperature without any problems. Apples, avocados and bananas should not be stored close by, as they emit ethylene, which causes the oranges to spoil more quickly. A cool cellar room in which you can store them in a single layer with ­distance between them is the ideal place to keep them for a few weeks. When stored in the fridge, they will keep for up to three months. It is best to wrap them individually in paper in order to protect them from moisture. Unfortunately, oranges lose­their intense flavour in the fridge.

2. What to do with ripe oranges? 

If you need to use up some ripe oranges quickly, you can build up a supply of juice: pour the squeezed juice into ice cube moulds and then freeze it to make smoothies later. You can whip up a refreshing smoothie from the juice of two oranges, 400 ml of ­carrot juice and 10 g of ginger. This smoothie will provide you with plenty of vitamin C, specifically around half the recommended daily amount for adults. Tip: spice up the smoothie by adding turmeric .

3. Clean with orange peel 

You don't have to dispose of the mountains of peel left over from baking or squeezing juice. You can use it to make a natural vinegar-based cleaner. To do this, combine equal parts water and vinegar in a container and add a few slices of orange peel. Leave to infuse for a week. The orange cleaner can be used to clean glass ceramic­plates and to remove labels from jars for your homemade jam.

4. Use orange peel to combat moths 

Clothes moths, which like to eat holes in our favourite sweaters, avoid­strong ­odours. Fragrant sachets of dried lavender deter the ravenous pests. However, dried orange peel also works­. Thoroughly separate the flesh from the peel, dry the pieces of peel for a few days at room temperature or on the ­heater and then spread them out in the closet.

5. Add flavour to sugar 

You can use flavoured sugar to give your black tea or porridge a wintery touch. To do this, wash an orange thoroughly, dry it and finely grate the peel with a cheese grater. Then mix the grated peel with granulated ­sugar. Packed in pretty little bags, the orange sugar also makes a lovely small gift.

6. Make jam and cake

Jam, in which you can also boil down the peel, or a citrus tart – a feast for both the taste buds and the eyes. Visit migusto.ch to find a large number of recipes for which you need oranges.