The orange peels piled up. I can’t compost citrus. I used most of the ideas I wrote about 10 Ways to Use Orange Peels. I still have a pile of orange peels. I wonder if I can make essential oil from orange peels to use in my homemade cleaning products?
So I did.
How to Make Orange Essential Oil
You will need
Orange peels
Grain alcohol or vodka* (a cheap grocery store brand such as Popov vodka is perfect for this project because it tastes downright nasty in a mixed drink.)
Tray, cookie sheet, or towel
Knife or food processor (the food processor/chopper is easier!)
Coffee filters
Two jars, one should have a tight fitting lid
Make it
- Eat a bunch of oranges, clementines, or mandarins and save the peels. Yum, yum, yum!
- Lay the peels on the cookie sheet, tray or towel and let them air dry (do not put them in a dehydrator or you will lose the oil!) until the peels are rock hard. It took my peels about one week to dry.
- Use the food process/chopper/knife to cut the dry peels into small bits. Do not over process the peels in the food processor/chopper until they are mushy or you will lose the oil in the peel.
- Add the chopped peels to the jar with the tight fitting lid and cover the peels in grain alcohol or vodka.
- Shake the jar to release the oil several times a day for several days. The longer you let the peels steep the more orange oil you will extract. I let mine sit in a sorta sunny spot on my kitchen counter for a weekend.
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| Freaky how it glows in the sunlight, huh? |
- Use a coffee filter to strain liquid from the orange peels and into the second jar.
- Place a clean coffee filter or cloth on top of the jar of liquid. Allow the alcohol to evaporate from the jar. I let mine sit for one week.
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| My orange essential oil after one week. |
- Optional: I had sediment in the bottom of my jar of orange oil after one week. It isn't going to hurt anything. I had an extra disposable coffee filters that I know I wouldn't use for coffee ( I use a reusable gold coffee filter. It's supposed to make better coffee.) I strained the orange oil again with a clean coffee filter into an amber jar (a repurposed yeast jar.) A dark colored jar will keep sunlight from degrading the essential oil.
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| The disposable filters came with a new coffeemaker. |
- What you have left is a jar of orange essential oil!
I added my essential oil to my homemade daily shower cleaner. The orange oil cut through soap scum like a house on fire!
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That's so easy! Essential oils are so expensive but it would be nice to add a bit to my cleaning solutions so everything didn't smell like vinegar.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great recipe! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteFarmer - I was surprised how easy it is. I was a disappointed I didn't get more essential oil from all of those orange peels. Now I know why real essential oils are a tad spendy.
ReplyDeleteDo you have an idea of hoe much Orange peel you had and how much oil you got? You made this seem doable, and I'm thinking of doing this to my grapefruit peel from our tree....good idea or not?
ReplyDeleteHi Pam - I had a cookie sheet full of clementine peels. I'm not sure how many there were, we just saved the peels on the last row in the box I bought. You can do it with any amount of citrus peels you have. Grapefruit sounds like a great idea! All citrus oils are great for cleaning (if that's how you are going to use them.)
ReplyDeleteYou really made this seem like something I can do. I'm going to try this, but I'll have to stock up on the orange peels first. I wonder if it will matter if I mix different types of orange peels...
ReplyDeleteWe love orange essential oil, and it would be nice not to have to buy it.
Thanks so much for coming by my blog!! I love talking to other condo dwellers to commiserate about the storage and space issues! I hope you'll come by again sometime!
ReplyDeletehttp://gardenberger.blogspot.com
How wonderful! I LOVE clementines or any orange really. Thanks so much for sharing this...I will definitely make it.
ReplyDeletexo
Pat
How wonderful! I LOVE clementines or any orange really. Thanks so much for sharing this...I will definitely make it.
ReplyDeletexo
Pat
Okay...you're wrong....it cannot be that easy!!!!LOL. Sorry couldn't help myself..your comment above is too funny. People have some nerve. Anywho, I'm also kickin myself..which isn't heard with my big..er...target. I just spent 19.99 at GNC on Oil of Oregano for mold and fungal allergy..don't laugh..I have horrible allergies year round and Vet..no comment please...told me abpout it. You put a drop under your tungue and it kills the crap. It's worked so far. So glad I found you thru Tree or More Tues.
ReplyDeleteHow cool! I Stumbled this 'cause I had no idea you make this at home. I have some grapefruits form my CSA, I wonder how those would turn out. I think it's worth a shot.
ReplyDeleteJeanne & Ailessa - I think a mix of orange peels or grapefruit peels will work for this project. With a mix of orange peels might vary the strength of the orange oil you get but since I use it for cleaning, I'm sure my shower wouldn't mind :)
ReplyDeleteMelody - Yes, it's that easy. No I'm not laughing at you. I'm only kicking myself because I've been buying lavender essential oil for almost as long as I've been growing it in my front yard and only until now learned how easy it is to turn it into essential oil. D'oh!
I Love that you MADE this! So creative! This is def something I would like to do. Great post
ReplyDeleteFound your blog via Tip Junkie's link party :)
Delighted Momma
This isn’t my typical kind of project....but now I SO want to try it (as I sit here and eat an orange....) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea - I totally want to try this now! I'll bet it smells awesome too. Thanks for linking to Craftastic Monday:)
ReplyDeleteNifty! Thanks for linking up to Mad Skills Monday!
ReplyDeleteI am in the middle of doing this and am on the last stage where the alcohol is evaporating out. I used a bowl and covered it with a clean cloth instead of the jar because it was too dirty.
ReplyDeleteMy questions are, during the alcohol evaporation, did it get really cloudy before it became that dark color? Also does the sediment float for a while before it settles at the bottom, or is it at the bottom from the beginning?
Great post, thanks so much!
Myla - The orange oil was cloudy during the evaporation stage and turned a darker color orange the longer it sat on the counter. If I accidentally bumped the jar, it kicked up the sediment and clouded until it settled again. That why I strained it one more time before I put it in the storage jar.
ReplyDeleteSounds great! I will definitely try it when I harvest my orange tree this winter. But you mentioned lavender, is that the same process to make lavender essential oil? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNatalie - the process for making lavender essential oil is similar. Here's a link to my tutorial http://condo-blues.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-make-lavender-essential-oil.html
ReplyDeleteOkay so I had no idea it was that easy to make your own essential oils. I can't wait to try this - thank you!
ReplyDeleteevery now and then we buy a whole bag of oranges and juice them all at once. what a treat! then i throw the peels into the garden to keep the cats away. so this is wonderful to know how to make the oil. can't wait to have some fresh juice!
ReplyDeleteI just bought a bunch of tangerines on sale, and I was hoping Id find a way to make oil as I make my own cleaners, this is awesome! I will be making it, I will be blogging it and I will be linking you with a big thank you!
ReplyDeleteI use my orange oil in homemade cleaners too.
ReplyDeleteMy friend just sent me the link to your post....after days of searching I couldn't find anything on how to do this. But, it was probably just me. :) This sounds soooo easy I am in S. CA and the citrus is ready! I am now picking as many of the fruit from around the nieghborhood that I can get my hands on.
ReplyDeleteI have dry skin and was turned on to some a great remedy, that I'll share. Make orange water with oil, and put in a spray bottle. Spray your bod with the water and then slather olive oil all over. The Orange water acts as a vehicle to move the oil evenly across your skin without the sticky buildup. And to keep from smelling like a salad put a couple of drops of the Orange Oil in your bottle of Bathroom Olive Oil. Your skin has never looked and felt so wonderful!
Thanks Again!
This isn't an essential oil either. It's an extract.
ReplyDeleteI think as someone else mentioned this is more of an extract than essential oil. Difference being: essential oils are created by steaming peels in a closed container, steam travels via connecting tube to a condenser, where the oil and water vapors are cooled and separated. One site I found mentioned that this method negatively affects the aromas of citrus. To what degree was unclear. With either method the oil migrates to a liquid and distills by evaporation. I don't know what difference there is between the two methods, and I'm no expert. At any rate, I think your method may be a better solution because it doesn't require special equipment to produce.
ReplyDeleteJust a quick mention, if you're planning on using this for purpose besides cleaning, make sure you use organic peels. You don't want to be smearing (concentrated) pesticides / herbicides all over sensitive facial skin (or anywhere else on your body). And even if you're just going to clean with it, why not do a good turn for the environment and use organic anyway?
Can I use rubbing alcohol instead of vodka?
ReplyDeleteI tried using rubbing alcohol once and it was an epic fail. They add scent to rubbing alcohol to make sure you don't drink it. That scent doesn't go away once you evaporate the alcohol from the mixture - blurgh!
DeleteNyllix is correct. This is extracting the oil from the orange peel, but it is considered a tincture, not a pure essential oil. A pure Essential oil is extracted several different ways....usually with a still, citrus oils are expeller pressed. a pure Essential oils has no additives, it is the true oil only.
ReplyDeleteCan I use this same process on Lemons? I can't seem to find a similar tutorial on lemons. It might be worth the $15 buying it if I have to cook it for 5 hours in oil.
ReplyDeleteI love your tutorial. it would be super easy if I could go through this process with both lemons and oranges...
Thanks!
I haven't tried it with lemons but I'm sure it will work. I used the same technique with the lavender I grow in my garden. The key is to dry the peels out first to concentrate the oil in the peel.
DeleteExactly how much Vodka do you use? I use an Orange Oil for the purpose of dusting/cleaning my wood furniture. Can I incorporate this to some sort of oil?
DeleteThank you! I am excited to try it. I posted a link to this tutorial on my blog since i will be trying this!
Deletestephaniesprojects.blogspot.com
And to think I just bought lavender oil. Oh well, maybe I'll break down and buy cheap vodka (never bought ANY before, cheap or spendy) and try the orange oil. While I'm at it, maybe I'll try vanilla too. Never made that before either. Do you have a tutorial for that??
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this!! By the way, I love the smell of orange when dusting, but I didn't know I could put it in my shower cleaner too.
Will tangerines work? Or only oranges? Thanks!
ReplyDelete