How to Make Orange Essential Oil from Orange Peels!~

It’s clementine season! I snatched a box up the first minute I saw them in the grocery store and raced home. Love eating them... save the orange peels!!

How to Make Orange Essential Oil

You will need

Orange peels

Grain alcohol or vodka* (a cheap grocery store brand vodka is perfect for this project)

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

1. Eat a bunch of oranges, clementines, or mandarins and save the peels. Yum, yum, yum!
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Add the chopped peels to the jar with the tight fitting lid and cover the peels in grain alcohol or vodka.
5. 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. 

6. Use a coffee filter to strain liquid from the orange peels and into the second jar.
7. 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.

My orange essential oil after one week.

8. 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 re-purposed yeast jar.) A dark colored jar will keep sunlight from degrading the essential oil.

The disposable filters came with a new coffeemaker. 

9. What you have left is a jar of orange essential oil!