Freezing orange zest

[mothhawk]

I needed fresh orange juice for a recipe but as the zest wasn't required, I thought I'd have a go at freezing it for use later. Grated it all off and as it was such a small volume, put it into an empty yoghurt pot in the freezer.

A week later - I was amazed - the zest had completely melted away the bottom of the yoghurt pot and started to eat into the plastic freezer drawer

Has anyone else had zest eat through plastic?

I shall use a glass ramekin next time!

[veggiechicken]

Strong stuff!! I "think" I dried some and kept it in a glass jar once.

[mothhawk]

Strong stuff!! I "think" I dried some and kept it in a glass jar once.

That's probably a better way to go, but I thought freezing would preserve more of the aromatic oils. I presume it's those same oils that dissolved the plastic though.

[veggiechicken]

Could you cover it in summat to keep the oils in? Or in an ice cube tray?

[mothhawk]

My ice cube tray is.....plastic

I have a couple of mini jam jars. Next time I'll use one of those. Although with my luck the glass will probably crack in the cold.

[veggiechicken]

You may have made an important scientific discovery. I have some sticky stuff remover and I'm sure it smells of oranges!

EDIT, Just found it and its labelled "De-Solv-it Citrus Technology".

[mothhawk]

An organic solvent then - next time I have sticky stuff to remove, I'll rub it with an orange first

[veggiechicken]

Lemon skins are good for cleaning taps and greasy stuff too.

[JanieB]

How would it fare put in foil instead of plastic? Just asking!