Oranges
Oranges are a useful fruit to learn to freeze. Slices of orange are fantastic on hot days in ice cold drinks. Often recipes will require the juice of a orange but not the peel or the peel and not the juice. What if you need half a orange in a recipe. What do you do with the rest? This should help on how to freeze a orange, reduce food waste and save you money.
Preparation
You can leave a orange whole or divide into segments (remove the pith though). Alternatively slice the orange or zest it. Remove the pips / seeds if you can.
Packaging
Label and date your storage container.
Whole oranges - wrap individually in cling film, bags or aluminium foil.
Segments and slices - best to open flash freeze first and then pack in freezer bags.
Zest - did you know you can zest a frozen orange as well. If you have the zest from a orange place this in a freezer bag for storage.
Orange Juice - freeze in ice cube trays and then place these in a freezer bag. You may prefer to wrap individually in foil when frozen but I prefer not to.
Alternatively - pack slices in freezer containers with sugar or a light syrup. Peeled orange slices are best stored in a light syrup (7 oz sugar to 1 pint of water).
Thawing
Thaw the oranges (unwrapped) at room temperature for up to 2 1/2 hours.
Storage Time
12 months