What To Do With Your Etrog After Sukkot

After the hunt to find an etrog after Sukkot, it's no fun to just throw it away after the holiday. Practice the value of bal taschchit, not wasting needlessly, by reusing or transforming your etrog. Check out these easy ideas below:

Compost It

sliding compost into the bin in the kitchen

Turn your etrog into plant food by composting it. There are all different ways to compost fruit and vegetable scraps. One of the easiest is just by burying your old fruit in the ground. What's Jewish about composting? Check out this article, Compost Torah, from GrowTorah.

Create An Etrog Garland

sliced and dried citrus fruit strung up in garland

Turn your etrog into decor for next year's sukkah. Slice and dry the etrog (air dry or low and slow in the oven is the way to go) then string the piece into a garland. Or, keep the etrog on hand for your next Havdalah -- simply cover the peel with cloves, like you would an orange, and enjoy the beautiful smell.

Make Etrog Jam

A photo of an orange and citrus jam. Did you know that an etrog can take the place of a lemon in several recipes?

Preserve your harvest by making some fruit preserves -- you can add some etrog juice to bring a hint of citrus to strawberry, orange, or even apple preserves -- or use one of these recipes to make special etrog-centric jams and preserves:

Etrog Preserves via Tablet Mag
Etrog Marmalade via Kosher.com

Plant The Seeds

Make Sweets

Did you know that the peels of many of your favourite fruits are actually edible? It's true! And citrus fruits, including etrogs, are no exception. And don't be intimidated - candied citrus recipes are wonderfully easy to make. Try one of these (and share your delicious photos on Instagram with #pjlibrary):