Whether you are aware of the benefits of fruit and vegetable skins or not, take a look at these Turkish deserts that use leftover fruit and vegetable peels to create some yummy snacks.

There are plenty of ways to turn these unwanted peels into something delicious to drink or eat.

Lets find out;

Turkish Apple tea and vinegar

Most of the people prefer to eat apple whole as snack, while many prefer to peel the skin away.

What appears to be interesting, is that apple peels can be used to make Tea.

As easy it is to just pour some boiling water onto the peels to brew some tea, the process of making apple cider vinegar takes longer.

But the end result is definitely worth it.

What You Need?

To make the  Turkish apple tea and vinegar you’ll need a glass container.

Fill the container with the washed apple peels (or the apples themselves, just without the core) until the container is filled to about one-third.

As a start, you can add a few chickpeas or about 50 milliliters of apple cider vinegar.

Add a tablespoon of salt (not iodized) and fill the rest of the container with non-chlorinated drinking water.

Do not close it off with a lid though.

Use a clean cloth and attach it to the top, securing it with a rubber band or string.

From then on, it will be essential that you stir this mixture every day.

Especially in a country with a warm climate, like Turkey, this is a necessity so that it does not get moldy.

The apple peels will start to sink to the bottom and once all the peels have sunk you will need to stop stirring and let it rest for a minimum of 40 days.

Most people recommend about two months, but I find that 40 days suffice.

Now, the vinegar needs to be strained.

Do it with a sieve lined with a cloth (cheesecloth or muslin cloth will do).

Pour the vinegar into the containers of your choice so you can use it wherever you like.

Here it is described how to make it with apple peels, but you can make vinegar virtually out of any fruit you can think of – tart pears and grapes are a good choice, too.

The important point is that the fruit must be ripe.

Potato peels, fries and chips

Potatoes are one of the main ingredient in Pakistani Dishes and but you will be surprised to know that making fries and chips out of potato peels was actually a thing in the U.S.

What you need?

The best way to go about this is to wash the potatoes thoroughly before peeling them and removing any growths and green patches from them if there are any.

Once you peel them completely, dry them off and just fry them in some vegetable oil.

Once they get nice and crispy let the excess oil drip off onto paper towels and season them to your liking.

For a lighter take on the peel chips, start off with the same peeling method but this time just add a dash or two of vegetable oil into a bowl with the peels, mix well and add the seasoning (some garlic could be interesting).

Toss the peels in the bowl until the seasoning decently distributed and spread them on a baking sheet covered with baking paper.

Bake these at 170 Celsius in the oven while keeping an eye on the peels.

Depending on how thick they are, they might get brown and crispy earlier than some others.

Usually, this takes 10 to 15 minutes. Once out of the oven, you can start munching them all up.

Candied citrus peels

When You are done with you salad, the lemon peels mostly tossed in trash cans, same goes with the orange.

Orange skins also trashed however their skins await the best of their fate.

But Why not we  make those unwanted peels into some sugary snack or use it as an ingredient or the topping to a delicious dessert?

But How lets find out?

What You need?

First, you need to cut the peels into strips and boil them for 15 minutes.

Strain them and repeat this step if you want to reduce the amount of bitterness coming from the white part of the peel.

Prepare a syrup of two parts sugar to one part water.

Let it boil until the sugar dissolves completely and toss in the peels, reducing the heat to a simmer and cooking them while stirring from time to time.

When the peels become translucent and the syrup becomes even thicker, remove the strips of the peels and let them drip off for a bit. Then toss in the remaining sugar to coat them.

Let the peels cool and dry off completely for several days.

If stored in a cool and dry place and in an airtight container, the candied goodness can last for about a month.

If you make a large quantity you can, of course, put them in the freezer where it can last for several months.

And don’t just pour away the syrup!

That can used in different desserts such as the one mentioned down below.

Turkish Watermelon rind dessert

This is a Turkish twist to candied citrus peels but as the rind is much thicker, the result is much different but definitely worth a try.

Considering that the white/light green part of the rind actually where most of the antioxidants stored, a small solace to eating the dessert.

This is definitely not a light dessert but is definitely a conversation starter.