10 easy and practical ways to reuse juiced lemon peels

If you're one of those people who squeeze lemons to make juice or prepare a recipe, don't throw away the peels! They have a wide range of uses that may surprise you. Besides being a more sustainable and economical alternative, they let you enjoy a delicious fresh, citrus scent in your home. In this post we share some tips so you can make the most of lemon peels. Take note!

I bring you 10 ways to recycle or use squeezed lemon peels, that you can easily use at home.

Tips on how to use squeezed lemon peels

Here I share some uses you can give to squeezed lemon peels before discarding them, as well as any lemon rinds you may have generated:

1. Use it as a natural cleaner: Lemon peels are excellent for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. Simply rub the peels against the surface and then wipe with a damp cloth. Besides cleaning (and disinfecting!) the kitchen surface or tiles, regarding cleaning you can also:
1. Ideal to clean the cutting board, the steel knives or wooden kitchen utensils: rub a lemon peel over the entire cutting board and then rinse it with warm water. Lemon helps remove stains and bad odors.
2. Perfect to freshen the microwave: place a couple of lemon peels in a bowl with water and heat it in the microwave for a few minutes. The steam produced will help loosen dirt and stains, making cleaning easier.
3. Bring shine to stainless steel: rub a lemon peel over the entire surface of your stainless steel fridge or sink and then rinse it with warm water. Lemon helps remove stains and gives the surface a natural shine.
2. Eliminate bad odors in the trash: place a few lemon peels at the bottom of the trash bag to eliminate bad odors and keep your kitchen fresh and clean.
3. As a natural air freshener: Lemon peels can leave a fresh, citrus scent in any room. Put some peels in a pot with water and simmer gently. The steam will release the aroma and help freshen the air.
4. Use them to make tea infusions: Lemon peels can make a delicious lemon tea. Simply, boil the lemon peels in water for a few minutes and then let them steep so they release all their flavor. You can add honey or ginger to sweeten and give it a special touch. This infusion is ideal to drink at any time of day and will provide you with a good dose of vitamin C (and anti-inflammatory and perfect for colds if you add ginger and honey).
5. As a flavoring for your cooking recipes: Lemon peels can add a bright, citrus flavor to many dishes. Add grated peels to salads, stews, sauces, and dressings to give them a fresh touch. In salads, if you don't want to use them whole (it won't look aesthetic), you can grate them and use only the yellow part (similarly in baking recipes).

• IMPORTANT! If you're not going to use the peels that same day, what you should do is remove the yellow part of the peel (with a knife or grater), and dry it (in the sun as it's always been done, in a food dehydrator or with an air fryer or oven). Once dry, grind it with an electric juicer or chopper to turn it into lemon powder, and store it in an airtight jar.

My most frequent uses, as you can imagine, it's dehydrating the peel to make lemon powder, which I then add to my cakes, to the flour for breading fish, or directly to the fish on the grill or in the oven. I also often use it to make a tea with honey (it feels fabulous in the cold months or after a heavy feast... I add a bit of cinnamon too, by the way); I also think it's great for jam, which I often make at home, and to rub my Pallarès iron knives as I have sometimes shown you (I keep those in perfect condition also thanks to rubbing them with squeezed lemons :)

I'd love to know which trick you found most interesting, and definitely hear what other uses you give to those lemon leftovers! Will you share it in the comments? I'd love that!