Poor Little Citrus Fruit...

Here I am again with another "Don't do this" post.  This one took me completely by surprise, and the science-y part of my brain went, "huh....I wonder why that happened."

I turned my poor little lemons and oranges into rocks in less than 2 days.

How did I manage this incredible bit of alchemy, you ask?  Well, you see, I put them into the refrigerator.  That should keep them fresh longer, you say?  Not if they don't have the outer peel on them, it won't.

Here's how the tragedy unfolded:

I had a Christmas party this past weekend.  I baked cakes, made chocolate, decorated the apartment, watched my favorite claymation movies, and generally gorged myself on the sundry joys of the Christmas season.  One of my dear friends showed up early to make mulled apple cider, which included the use of fresh lemons and oranges.  As she was using a standard peeler to remove most of the peels (leaving just a little bit of the white pith left), I was trying very hard to not jump right into the pot and swim around with them.  After each lemon and orange had so graciously offered it's zesty goodness for the sake of the party, I diligently placed it into the fridge to keep.  After all...they'll spoil if I leave them out, now that they have no peel left.  What I didn't know was that that simple act sent the poor unsuspecting citrus fruits to their doom.

I've tried searching online for the cause of this phenomenon, but to no avail.  My best guess is that the peel maintains the moisture within the fruit, preventing it from drying out.  Therefore, if you have an unpeeled citrus fruit (even if it seems to be mostly intact and covered by a little bit of pith), you should put it in a sealed, airtight container or bag right away.  I should have done the smart thing and put the orange in the fruit bowl with the blueberries and raspberries, and squeezed the lemon into the iced tea.  But then again, you all wouldn't be reading this post, and I wouldn't have had my "huh, that's cool" moment of the evening.

So please, save a citrus fruit - don't leave it unprotected from the harsh elements!