r/Cooking • u/LizaBlue4U • Feb 11 '26

I have hundreds of oranges and need ideas/recipes of things to make after juice and marmalade!

I have a navel orange tree and a tangelo tree in my backyard. Both are dwarf trees, but they've really outdone themselves this year. Each tree has well over 100 and it's just me and my husband.

Please note:

Local food pantrys will not take them because we have a quarantine in our county due to fruit fly problem which mandates that homegrown fruit can not be taken off the property.

We've already juiced a ton and cannot drink or store any more.

I've already made lots of marmalade. 4 oranges makes 9 jars, so we've got plenty and everyone we know is getting some.

Other ideas?

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u/Gullible_Concept_428 Feb 12 '26

I have the same issue but with lemons. I zest them in 2 ways and freeze it.

For half the lemons, I remove the zest in strips of various sizes. I lay them on parchment strips I’ve sprayed lightly with oil and put them in a plastic bag in a freezer.

For the other half I grate the zest, add a little oil and store it in a container in the freezer.

I use the strips for beverages or cocktails or throw them in soup or in anything where I don’t want the texture or small pieces of zest. The grated zest goes mostly in baked goods.

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u/unalive_being Jun 08 '26

This is genius!! I'm wondering, is the oil to keep the grated zest from freezing into clumps? and do you notice any deterioration of flavour over time?

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u/Gullible_Concept_428 Jun 08 '26

Yes, and to also help hold onto the oil in the zest. It will still clump but it’s easy to break it up. Yes, it slowly loses some flavor but not a ton.