How to Make Orange Extract + Free Labels

You’re going to love making your own orange extract with this simple 2 ingredient recipe. Easy to make, customizable and cost effective orange extract will elevate your treats and baked goods with unbeatable orange flavor. Free printable labels included!

Pure orange extract should definitely have a place in your kitchen pantry. I know I’ve got some next to my homemade vanilla extract, homemade mint extract and homemade lavender extract.

Yes – I’ve got a thing for homemade extracts. They’re just so good! In my opinion, homemade extracts taste much better than store-bought extracts. Once you start making homemade extracts, you won’t want to stop!

Homemade Orange Extract

Orange extract is a delicious and flavorful addition for cooking and baking. You can use orange extract much like you would use orange oil or essence to flavor recipes. In fact, my all natural orange almond cookies are a great example of a recipe that would taste fabulous with a touch of orange extract!

Homemade orange extract couldn’t be simpler to make. It’s made by soaking orange peels in a high proof alcohol to extract the flavor and aroma of the oranges. No artificial flavors or added chemicals. It’s 100% pure and flavorful.

Once your orange extract is done, you can use it for all sorts of tasty dishes like cakes, smoothies and even marinades. Yum!

Why You’ll Love Homemade Orange Extract

I think you’re really going to love making your own orange extract! Here are just some of the things that make this homemade orange extract so great:

• Easy to make – You can craft a batch of homemade orange extract with almost no prep time and only 2 ingredients.
• Cost effective – This extract can be made at a fraction of the cost of store-bought orange extract. In fact, I was blown away when I ran the numbers! Keep reading below to see a cost comparison.
• Customizable – you can control the strength of your orange extract by adding more or less orange peel.
• Variable – Try combining your orange extract with other complimentary extracts for unique flavor combinations. You can even add extra ingredients like cinnamon sticks to your extraction for a custom flavor profile.
• Contains to extra additives – No surprises, you control the ingredients and know exactly what you’re getting.
• Great for gifting – Homemade orange extract makes a perfect holiday gift. Don’t forget to take advantage of the free printable labels I’ve included below!
• Tastes amazing – Store-bought extracts just can’t compare to homemade.

What You’ll Need to Make Orange Extract

Ingredients

Making homemade orange extract is very simple. For the recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

• Orange peels – I used the peels of 3 big oranges for a half pint (8 oz) jar of homemade extract. Use organic fruit to avoid extracting any preservatives, pesticides or herbicides from your fruit.
• High proof alcohol – I like to use Smirnoff 80 proof vodka for all my extracts. Other good choices include brandy, rum or bourbon.

Equipment

You’ll also need the following equipment:

• A zest peeler or a regular zester.
• Clean glass jars with lids – I like to use mason jars for the extraction process.
• Parchment paper – to prevent possible corrosion from the alcohol touching the metal lid.
• A label with your extraction name, start and end date.
• Smaller bottles – optional, for storing your finished extract.
• A funnel – optional, but makes transferring your finished extract to smaller bottles much easier.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Making your homemade orange extract is a really simple process. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Gather your oranges, zest peeler, clean jar and lid, parchment paper and a label.
2. Use a zest peeler to peel the colorful skin off of the oranges. This zest peeler is my favorite tool for the job because it can quickly peel the fruit without getting the bitter white pith underneath, which you don’t want.
3. Fill your clean jar with orange peels.
4. Fill up your jar with vodka or your alcohol of choice. Add enough alcohol to completely cover the orange peels, leaving a bit of head space at the top of the jar.
5. Place a piece of parchment paper between the jar and lid to prevent possible corrosion from the alcohol touching the metal lid.
6. Seal the jar closed.
7. Label the jar with the product name, start and end date.
8. Place the jar or orange extract in a cool, dark place and allow it to extract for 6-8 weeks.
9. Every few days, give your jar of extract a shake to help aid the extraction process.
10. When the extraction time is up, check your extract. If you feel like it needs to be stronger, simply give it a little more time until you’re satisfied with the finished product.

Storing Your Orange Extract

Too much light exposure can lead to a loss of extract flavor and potency. Because of this, it’s best to store your homemade orange extract in a dark bottle away from direct sunlight. If your extract is stored in a cool place away from direct sun light, it should last for several years.

If I have a lot of homemade orange extract on hand, I like to keep it in these 16 oz amber glass bottles. I also like to use these smaller 2 oz amber glass bottles for extract. And these cute 1 oz amber glass bottles are the are the perfect size for gifts.

Free Printable Labels

A bottle of your homemade orange extract would make a perfect Christmas gift! I have adorable printable label designs that you can download for free and size to fit whatever bottle you are using.

How to Download the Free Orange Extract Labels

Just fill out the form below, and you will get instant access to my subscriber library where I have all my free printables and downloads.

*Already a subscriber? No need to fill out the form again. The link and passcode is in each weekly newsletter I send out.

Printing Your Label

You can print these labels at home on your own craft paper sticker labels. If you’re doing this, you’ll need blank labels like these Avery 2×2 craft paper sticker labels. You can also send these labels to a shop for printing, or have Avery print them for you.

I prefer to send them out to Avery to print, since it can be difficult to get the label lined up perfectly with my printer sometimes. This way I can also order exactly what I need instead of buying a big pack of labels.

If you’re going to Avery.com print the labels for you, you’ll set up a free account, then you can upload my label design. Once onto the Avery website, you can adjust the size of the design to fit whatever label you are using for your extract bottles. Super easy and super cute!

Click over to see my How to Print and Design with Avery Labels for more details.

Orange Extract Variations

If you want to get creative, you can experiment with different orange extract variations. You can make these variations one of two ways – either combine existing extracts to make a mixed flavor extract – think something like vanilla extract and orange extract. Or, you can actually add other ingredients to your orange peels as they extract. Some examples might be almonds or cinnamon sticks.

Ideas for Using Orange Extract

The best part about having pure homemade orange extract is, of course, getting to use it!

An orange butter cream frosting would be a fantastic way to use your orange extract! And everyone knows that chocolate and orange are a match made in heaven, so why not try something like chocolate orange cake?

Orange extract would also work well savory sauces and marinades. Think about adding a small amount to a glaze for chicken stir fry. In fact, you could even try adding some to my healthy stir fry with orange ginger sauce.

If your recipe is calling a fresh burst of orange flavor, try a bit of this homemade orange extract. I think you’ll love it!

Orange Extract and Substitutions

There are lots of different orange flavoring products on the market today. If you read enough recipes, you’ll likely come across some calling for orange zest, orange juice concentrate, orange oil, orange essence and so on.

What do they all mean? Let’s take a look at the differences so that you an decide when and how to substitute orange extract for these other products.

Common Orange Flavoring Products

• Orange Oil: This is the most highly concentrated orange product. It’s made from essential oils extracted from orange peels. Because it’s so concentrated, it is used in very small amounts.
• Orange Extract: Orange extract also has highly concentrated flavor, though less intense than orange oil. It’s made by extracting orange oils and other flavor compounds from orange peels into an alcohol solution. You use orange extract in larger qualities than you would orange oil. Think about using it in quantities similar to vanilla extract.
• Orange Essence: Orange Essence is similar in intensity to orange extract. However, orange essence can be either naturally flavored or made from synthetic flavor compounds, depending on the variety. It’s intensity can vary, so it’s generally advised to start small and add more with this product.
• Orange Juice Concentrate: Orange juice concentrate is often used in recipes to add flavor. It has less intense flavor than either orange extract, oil or essence.
• Orange Zest: Zest is made from finely grating orange peels. The peels contain essential oils and are therefore very flavorful. It’s great to use when you want orange flavor without added liquid.

As you can see, there are many ways to add orange flavor to food. Orange extract can be used as a replacement for any of these, but keep in mind the varying flavor intensities and amount of liquid that would normally be present with each product when deciding how much extract you would use and if it will work for your recipe.

Alcohol Free Orange Extract

In case you are wondering, yes, it is possible to make an alcohol free orange extract. If the case of an alcohol free extract, you’ll use food grade glycerin as the extracting agent.

All of the measurements and instructions stay the same as the alcohol version, but in this case the extraction time will be longer since you are using glycerin. Expect your alcohol free orange extract to take several months to fully extract. Check it occasionally until you are happy with the finished product.

Your glycerin-based orange extract should have a shelf life of about 1 year.

Cost Analysis – Is it Worth it?

I’m sure some of you are wondering – is it worth it to make your own orange extract? How does the cost compare to the store-bought version? Let’s take a look! Keep in mind, prices may vary depending on what you can find and fluctuations on the market.

• 8 oz of Vodka: $5.oo
• 3 large oranges: $2.64

Total cost of pure homemade orange extract: $7.64 per 8 oz.

Cost of store-bought orange extract: $4.77 for 2 oz of McCormick Pure Orange Extract.

That equals $19.08 for 8 oz of store-bought extract compared to $7.64 for 8 oz of homemade orange extract!

I was blown away by these numbers! Clearly, pure homemade orange extract is the cost winner here!

FAQ’s

Try These Other Extract and Herbs Recipes

Homemade extracts are one of my favorite things to make. They are so easy and taste so great! I hope you’ll give this pure homemade orange extract a try. If you want to try making some extracts or similar recipes, then check out one of these to get started:

• How to Make Lavender Extract and Tinctures
• How to Make Mint Extract + Free Printable Labels
• How to Make the Best Homemade Vanilla Extract + Free Labels
• Pressure Cooker Pure Vanilla Extract
• Pressure Cooker Infused Honey
• Make Your Own Chive Blossom Vinegar
• How to Make Cinnamon Extract + Free Labels
• How to Make Lemon Extract + Free Labels
• How to Make Almond Extract + Free Labels