by Katie
Continuing my discussion of my obsession with winter citrus, today I want to talk about what you do with the leftovers: grapefruit rinds, orange peels, lemon pith, etc.
Image: cooking-books.blogspot.com
Growing up, my mother treated our garbage disposal like a cranky and very delicate great aunt, never giving it anything challenging for fear it might break. Egg shells went immediately into the trash. Citrus peels? Forget it.
Imagine my surprise, then, when a few years ago we had a garbage disposal repaired and the tech instructed me to make sure to throw all my citrus peels in there- that it was good to give the disposal's gears something to chew on and it helped freshen the works.
Ever since, I've religiously ground up all my citrus remnants, and it is awesome. My garbage disposal is hanging in just fine, and best of all it makes everything smell fresh instead of stinky. Plus, it reduces the volume of our trash! (I eat kind of a lot of grapefruit.) So fear not, garbage disposal users! Go forth and grind your grapefruits!
* Alternative titles: obliterate your oranges! liquefy your lemons! crush your clementines! I could go on! I will spare you!
I've heard that egg shells are actually good for your disposal too. I always use my disposal for citrus peels and egg shells.
Posted by: Kay | January 31, 2012 at 02:29 PM
I've been doing the same with my citrus peels since I was little. Especially lemons - fresh lemon scent instead of fake lemon cleaner scent!
Posted by: Darcey | January 31, 2012 at 03:18 PM
And, for the record, if you imitate the sound that your disposal makes while disposing of citrus peels, your spouse will be forever endeared to you.
Posted by: Heather | January 31, 2012 at 03:59 PM
This article is just what I've been looking for: excellent, educational and very useful
Posted by: long skirts | February 15, 2012 at 10:18 AM