Though it took us a long time to understand that citrus fruits are meant to be peeled – those were some dark years of intense Vitamin C deficiency – we’ve since found ourselves surrounded by discarded peels after many a clementine binge. What to do with all those pretty peels?

We tried breeding new hybrid species (pictured at right), creating an army of peel men and crafting homemade basketballs, all to no avail. Thankfully, Apartment Therapy’s Kitchn blog offers this helpful listicle of useful, inventive applications for all those winding orange forms. So get to peeling and eating, then try one of these 5 Uses For Citrus Peels.

• Make candied peels: Who says you can’t eat peels? Better to sweeten and soften a little beforehand though. Check out this terrific (and deliciously illustrated) candied orange peel recipe from foodie blog Use Real Butter.

• Dry and save for tea: We were never bowled over by an all-fruit tea blend, but we’ve often enjoyed a black tea with peely highlights. For a list of the former, check out this comprehensive archive at Teaviews, and for one of the latter there’s this recipe for Citrus Earl Grey.

• Add to meat dishes: We did this over the holidays actually, and it did a great deal to spice up our tofurkey. We took some pointers along the way from this recipe for Citrus Roasted Turkey.

• Infuse liquor: We hadn’t thought of this one, but now all future household peels will end up at the bottom of liquor bottles. To help us in this process we’ll be consulting both Apartment Therapy and eHow’s guides to DIY liquor infusion.

• Mix with fireplace kindling: We don’t have a fireplace, but we worry that the constant scent of citrus filling our house might become tiresome or even nauseating after too many winter months. At least, that time we took an apartment next to a candy factory simply for the smell, following our noses turned out to have been a very bad call.

• Strangely Absent: Protect your pets