How To Dry Oranges For Garlands and Christmas Displays
The smell, the colour, their use; dried oranges are a staple for the season and it seems a perfect time to share how I make mine.
You might have seen them popping up on your news feeds and I'm going to show you how I make my own dried orange slices that can be used for all sorts of Christmas decorations. String them up in a garland, place them in a jar, tie them to napkins, dried sliced oranges are just soooo Christmassy!
The joy of this project is that all you really need is a sharp knife, an oven and a bag full of oranges.
How To Cook The Oranges
You will want to first slice up your oranges as neatly as possible. The slices need to be about 5mm thick but it doesn't really matter, what matters is they are all of similar width so they get an even bake. Then you want to pat them dry and place them on a cooling rack. You then have to place the cooling rack on a tray so the hot air can circulate around the oranges. If they are sat flat on a tray they will stay too moist and not dry out.
You will want to have your oven set at about 130°C and when up to temperature you can pop your trays of slices in. I find you need to turn them every half hour (ish) for about 3 hours. You will see as they dry that they darken in colour and you will be able to tell when they are done. It's a great thing to have in the oven as you decorate the house or if you are just pottering, they let off a delicious sweet smell and making them just feels so chrismassy.
Once cooled these slices will look beautiful in jars on a sideboard, strung onto garlands, used as place settings, or used to decorate special parcels, regardless of how you use them, making these dried orange slices really is a lovely Christmas activity.
No comments
Post a Comment