Here are some of the many ways you can use a fresh orange in your home, from cooking to baking to cleaning, juicing, decorating and more!
8 uses for fresh SoCal oranges
Drinks
We have to start with OJ, of course. Squeeze a bag of freshly-picked oranges for the best glass of orange juice of your life — then make it fancy with some champagne for the freshest mimosa your brunch table has ever seen.
Don’t stop with OJ, though. Use freshly-squeezed oranges for carrot-orange-ginger smoothies, for a homemade Orange Julius, for mulled wine, for hot orange tea, orange hot chocolate and a myriad of orange-based cocktails. Use the peel to garnish your drinks, the juice to put inside them and the zest to add a bit of oomph to your final presentation!
Use oranges as a base for both sweet and savory sauces.
The classic sauce for orange chicken can pair well with a number of other ingredients, such as tofu, cauliflower, shrimp, duck, beef and more!
You can also make an orange creamthat’s lighter and more suited to pastas, seafood and veggies.
Orange is also a great base for salad dressings — especially salad dressings that already call for a citrus like lemon or lime. Try substituting lemon juice for orange juice next time you make your favorite salad dressing and see how you like it!
Jams and jellies aren’t as intimidating to make as they may seem, and they’re well worth the work!
Orange marmalade is a no-brainer when it comes to orange-based jelly-making, but you’d be surprised at how much you can get out of a single fruit. Orange jamis delightfully sweet and fresh, and you can add all kinds of spices to it to make it as cozy, spicy or tangy as you like. Plus, little jars of the stuff make for great gifts come the holiday season.
The real question is, what can’t you bake with oranges?
Orange juice, orange zest, orange peel — all of it can go into your next baking escapade. We’ll list 15 ideas off the top of our heads just now, just to prove it.
Like lemon juice and lime juice, orange juice can add an essential splash of acid to your dish, as well as an extra level of complex flavor. As such, there are a ton of different ways to incorporate oranges into your culinary creations!
If you’re interested in making your own household cleaners, then oranges can be super useful in your DIY cleaning arsenal.
Use orange peel or orange oil to add a fresh scent to your eco-friendly diy all-purpose cleaner, or use an orange half and some salt to scrub porcelain surfaces.
Oranges make for great holiday decorations! Slice the orange into thin slices and place them in the dehydratoruntil fully dry. They’ll last for ages strung up on a Christmas treeor as a stringed wreath on the wall!
Finally, you can use oranges for a homemade sugar scrub that will leave your skin feeling fresher and softer than ever! All you need is sugar, coconut oil, dried orange zest and some orange essential oil (for extra aroma). Mix it all up and use it for yourself or give them out as gifts! You can’t go wrong!
Oranges are incredibly versatile fruits, and with so many fresh oranges available here in Southern California, it’s a crime to not take advantage of nature’s bounty. Head to your nearest farmers market near our Southern California apartments, grab a bag of fresh oranges and get inspired!
