A New Way to Use those Orange Peels
It’s orange season here in Florida. For anyone new to the Sunshine State, you may have noticed that winter is our growing season. This season gives us plump strawberries, peppers of all colors, towering sunflowers, and beautiful trees ladened with bright, juicy oranges.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect, because in ayurveda, the orange is considered a food that pacifices both vata and kapha doshas. As I mentioned in a previous post, vata imbalance is more likely in the winter, which is considered a vata season. And come spring, kapha season will be upon us.
A cross between a pomelo and a mandarin orange, the sweet orange was first bred in East Asia thousands of years ago. The first mention of the sweet orange is from China in 314 BCE and now is one of the most widely grown fruit trees in the world.
While used in a wide variety of cuisines, cooking orange peels is also an excellent way to add a subtle, delicate scent to your home without worrying about releasing perfumes and other chemicals into your air. This is particularly good for those who are sensitive to scents and perfumes. And it’s a great opportunity to reuse something that would likely otherwise go right into the trash!
You will only need the orange peels for this so feel free to use the flesh and juice however you like.
Step 1: Place the orange peels in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil.
Step 2: Once the water has come to a boil, turn down to a low simmer. You’ll want to check the pot every so often to ensure you don’t boil the pot dry. Add water to the pot if needed.
You can also add other ingredients to the water. These are some popular additions:
Cinnamon and star anise
Other citrus peels, such as lemon, lime, or grapefruit
Pine needles
Rosemary, mint, or thyme sprigs
You can pick from above simply based on what scent you like the best, or you can select one based on its healing properties and see how it makes you feel. They’re all warming and/or sweet spices/herbs that can help to balance vata and kapha doshas, helping with pain, circulation, and balancing the nervous system. Pine and rosemary in particular are said to relieve fatigue and depression, as well as have a healing effect on the respiratory system. And if you tend toward a pitta imbalance, the slight cooling effect of mint may be a good choice.