Most people buy them over the Christmas holidays, I always buy a few boxes, but by the time january comes and they start to look a little disheveled I squeeze them for juice before they go bad.
But did you know you can also make a last ditch dual use of the skins once you have squeezed the juice out?
Yes you can. Place all the skins in a saucepan (make sure to wash the whole orange before squeezing if you want to try this) cover the skins with water, just enough to cover them. Then put them on the stove, bring to the boil and then leave to simmer for about 90 mins to 2 hours. Keep an eye on the pan to make sure it does not boil dry, if water looks low, boil the kettle and top up the water.
First of all your home will smell amazing, I did my first batch with a stick of cinnamon to clear the air in my house. Afterwards I removed the cinnamon stick, then when the skins had cooled I put the skins in the blender. Once pureed I added some sugar to taste and put the puree back on the stove for about 20 minutes on low.
What you will have is an amazingly tangy and zesty orange purée. Boiling the skins for a long time will get rid of the bitter taste often associated with orange skins.
I used mine in yogurt, but you can also use this purée on chicken or in a cake mixture, in fact the possibilities are endless.
Once you try it you will never throw away orange or lemon skins again. You can do this with any citrus fruit that is slightly old, don't use fresh citrus fruits (except for clementines and limes) as the pith will be too thick and the purée will be more on the bitter side.
