Orange Zest - Part II

I posted about saving orange peels for orange zest a few days ago.  I took some pictures tonight showing what I do to the orange peels to make them into dried orange zest.

First up, orange peels.  Here is a picture of what Joel left behind.

From those peels, I cut them up into manageable pieces.

Then, with a paring knife (or a cheapass steak knife -- who me? LOL) I trim off the pith.  Pith is the whitish stuff on the inside of the peel.  If you left it on it would make your zest very bitter.

This is what you are left with and what the dried pieces will look like in a day or so.

This is what I dry them on and how I store them until there is enough to grind in my nut & spice grinder.  I have a tray from my toaster oven that I rarely ever use.  I put the tray on top of my fridge because it is warm and dry up there, plus, as an added bonus, you can't see the tray.  It's where I dry bread for bread crumbs, too.  However, anything would work.  Paper towel, plate, tray, etc.  Basically, anything that would let you lay them out without overlapping too much.

So, there you have it.  What I used to toss into the garburator, is now being made into an absolutely lovely aromatic for cooking.  Or, if you were one to burn candles & oils, you could toss the dried zest into the potpourri, too.   This is what I end up with: