Homemade Orange Flavored Cooking Oil

This time of year I always get a case of oranges from the store. We need that vitamin C! After exhausting the orange zest for every type of baked goods, and alternating using the rind for chicken recipes - today I thought I'd make flavored cooking oil. Adding a little orange brightness into the oil would add a special something to stir frys and many other dishes - and use up these rinds! Waste not want not.

Dried Orange Rinds

Low Heat Extraction of Orange Oil

I had already dried several days worth of orange rinds. I did not try to remove the whites at all - just rough chopped them a bit and then placed into a pan and popped onto the stove.  I placed roughly 3 cups of light oil in the pan and turned on low heat. I used corn oil - you could use anything. I had thoughts of using some coconut oil - wouldn't that be a fun combination?  

Strained Orange Flavored Oil

After leaving on low heat for a few hours I turned off the heat and let it cool down. Then strained the oil.  You can see the rinds turned brown and or white - perhaps I had the heat a bit too high.

The flavor of the oil does have a nice subtle zip of oranges! I'll call this experiment a success.

Thank you for being a grey, snowy and wet day which sparked my creativity!


I guess I should be singing something by Anita Bryant :)

Teresa Marie