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How to Freeze Oranges

Ingredients:

oranges
cookie sheet
freezer bags

This recipe works for any and all oranges including: mandarins, satsuma, clementine, and any other orange or citrus fruit. Oranges will not ripen or get sweeter after picking, so it is important to use fresh, ripe oranges. Smoothies are a popular way of using frozen fruit but frozen citrus can also be used in cakes and baked goods if a recipe calls for puréed oranges. Frozen oranges will stay fresh for 6 months to 1 year.

Directions:

1. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat, so the fruit doesn’t stick to it. You can also use the cookie sheet without any kind of cover, but removing the orange from the sheet might be more difficult. Freezing the orange chunks on the baking sheet before transferring to a container ensures that you won’t have a frozen mass of orange in a bag that you’ll need a chisel and hammer to chip away when you want some oranges.
2. Peel the orange and separate the segments or remove all the skin and pith with a knife and chop the orange in chunks. Place all the orange pieces in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Freeze until the pieces are solid. That usually takes a couple of hours, or can be done overnight.
4. Transfer the frozen orange pieces into a freezer bag or container, label with the date and put back into the freezer.