Dried orange slices. How to dry oranges for decoration

Bright citrus decor makes home crafts original. Lovers of crafts self made love to use a fruit addition for gifts, because citrus fruits always remind us of the holiday.

You can buy a similar decor at any handicraft store. But such natural supplements are always expensive. You can significantly reduce the cost of crafts and achieve the maximum handmade effect if you dry the fruit yourself. But there are several subtleties of creating dry citrus wedges that will make the decor beautiful and vibrant.

Decor preparation the same regardless of the selected drying method. First, you need to wash whole fruits from possible contamination. Dry well or dry with a towel.

Cut the fruit into the desired shape, usually a circle. Each slice should be at least five millimeters. During drying, the thickness may decrease several times.

If you choose to dry the fruit entirely, then make long vertical cuts in the peel. Each cut should be one centimeter apart.

There are several ways to dry citrus decor.

Oven. The easiest and most commonly used drying option is to use the oven. Cover the baking sheet with parchment. We put the cut slices on it. Try not to let them touch each other.

We put the sheets in the oven and dry the fruit for six hours at 160 degrees. After three hours, you should carefully monitor the oven. The slices may burn, in which case the temperature must be reduced.

And to speed up the process, every two hours it is necessary to take out sheets with slices and let them cool down.

This method has the main advantage - simplicity and speed. But there is also a significant drawback. During drying, the slices can change shape and become uneven in color.

Electric dryer. If you become the owner of such household appliances, then the process of drying fruits for decoration is greatly simplified. Place the wedges on the net and turn on the electric dryer.

This method is just as simple, but requires a longer drying period - about a day. Deformation of the lobules is also possible.

Battery. This drying option is especially loved by needlewomen. With it, even blanks for decoration are obtained, but the process takes four days. It is also possible only during the heating season. In this way, you can dry it on the windowsill, but in two weeks.

For this drying technique you will need:

• corrugated cardboard;
• awl, scissors;
• stationery clips, clothespins or twine.

Cut out two rectangular blanks from cardboard to the size of the battery sections. Use an awl to make holes over the entire surface of the cardboard.

Place the prepared fruit slices on one of the sheets of cardboard.

Cover them with a second piece from above and tie them with twine.

Clips, clothespins, or any other holder can be used instead of a cord.

Place the citrus cardboard between the battery sections or on top of it. Leave in this position until completely dry.

Pros - simplicity, smooth decor, no additional skills required, no need to check every hour, no household appliances required. But at the same time - it takes more time for drying, can be used only at a certain time.

But it is not only the whole fruit that can be dried for decoration. Delicious pulp leave it to yourself, but you can make shapes out of it. For example, emboss stars or cut out petals.

You can store dried figures in a tightly closed bag in a dry place.

If you dry the citrus decor correctly, then you can use it as a separate decoration for the holiday, and in a composition with other elements.

Dried orange slices are very widespread not only in cooking. They are increasingly used as a basis for creativity. Hand-made New Year and Christmas compositions using dried citruses will not only decorate your home, but also bring a festive scent to it. We will talk about how you can dry an orange at home in this article.

For decoration, you can use oranges of different diameters, the main thing is that they are bright orange and, preferably, do not contain seeds.

First of all, the fruit must be thoroughly washed. Next, it is cut into rings, up to 5 millimeters thick. For even drying, it is important to maintain an even cut along the entire diameter. It is not worth cutting too thin, as the slices will end up being translucent and will look less impressive in the composition.

To speed up the evaporation of the liquid, the cut should be thoroughly blotted with paper towels or napkins.

Now let's decide on the drying method. To do this, you can use an oven, an electric dryer or a regular room battery. The latter option is relevant only during the heating season. In the summer months, you can dry oranges for decoration on the windowsill under the influence of the sun's heat.

In the oven

Prepared citrus slices are spread on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Layout should be carried out at some distance from each other in order to avoid sticking of products.

The pallet is placed in an oven preheated to 100 - 120 degrees. To allow air to circulate freely, the door should be left slightly ajar.

Drying time varies from 4 to 8 hours and depends on the thickness of the orange slices. The drying process must be strictly controlled to prevent overdrying and burning. Several times the baking sheet will need to be taken out and the fruit turned over.

You can also dry whole oranges for decoration. To do this, the fruits are washed, and then the skin is cut in several places around the entire circumference. The workpieces are placed in an oven and dried for about 10 hours.

In an electric dryer

The process of drying orange slices in an electric dryer takes a little longer, but it is more comfortable, since this unit heats up the ambient air much less than an oven.

Sliced ​​orange slices are laid out on trays in one layer. The pallets are placed on an electric dryer heated to a maximum value of 70 ºС. Approximately every hour and a half, the trays will need to be replaced in order for the fruit to dry more evenly. The total drying time is 10 - 12 hours. Readiness is determined by the rustling sound of crusts and brittle pulp. Underdried oranges will be elastic inside, which can lead to their rotting in the future.

On battery

This method allows you to make the slices absolutely even, without dents and bulges. But in order to use it, you need to build a special drying chamber.

For this, 4 blanks are cut from dense corrugated cardboard: two - 30 * 10 centimeters, two - 10 * 2 centimeters. Large parts are pierced with an awl in several places, and then small strips are glued to them. You can see how to do it right in the photo.

The prepared orange slices are inserted between the plates and held together with paper clips or rubber bands.

In this form, the structure is sent to the battery. Drying time takes 3 - 4 days.

If the heating season has not yet begun, then the cardboard with oranges can be simply put on the windowsill and wait for the fruits to dry completely under the influence of the sun's heat.

In order for the cardboard structure to retain its shape as long as possible, do not forget to dry the oranges thoroughly before laying.

Watch a video from the channel "Vekoria Handmade" - how to dry citrus fruits for decoration

How to dry oranges for culinary purposes

You can dry oranges for food using all the methods described above, except for drying on a battery.

The tea wedges are best cut in half, and the chips can be rounded. You can use a sprinkle of powder or ground cinnamon to make the chips.

How to cook orange chips in the oven will be described in detail by the video from the Pochavkaem channel - Orange Chips. A simple recipe.

Do not forget that orange peel is also used in cooking. How to properly dry the crusts when room temperature, as well as the method of their use, will tell the channel "IVSkorohodov" - Orange peels drying and use

Moms and dads know that New Year must certainly smell of oranges, tangerines and ... cinnamon. Grandparents will definitely add Olivier with champagne to the list of New Year's aromas, but we will not use this for New Year's decor... We will create beautiful new Year decoration from citrus fruits and create pleasant fragrant childhood memories.

Preparing for the New Year 2019 should not turn into an endless race to complete all the points that your child wrote in the letter to Santa Claus. Truth. There are many great ways to make your child happy. A gift is just one of these ways.

When all-all desires come true - well, but gradually the MIRACLES created by the hands of parents or Santa Claus still begin to be taken for granted, for granted. But if you teach your child to rejoice not only when he receives, but also when he creates and gives, then consider that you will give him more chances for happiness in the future.

So making wonderful New Year's decorations from citrus fruits can be such a step towards enjoying creativity and the opportunity to please loved ones with a handmade gift! And also ... this wonderful aroma!

Just imagine: it gives a great pleasure to a child to do something with his parents, this wonderful evening smells of oranges, tangerines, cloves and cinnamon - 20 years and 30 years pass, but every time, inhaling the aroma of citrus, your child (already grown up) will experience a rush positive emotions, return to childhood and draw strength from the source that the FAMILY once opened for him!

Gift Ideas

1. A bag of different fruits and spices to decorate
2. Books about the New Year: Andreas H. Schmachtl “The Adventures of Julius Dandelion. Save the New Year ", Clement Clarke Moore" New year's night... A Mouse's Tale ”, E. T. Hoffman“ The Nutcracker and the Mouse King ”.
3. A new set of children's dishes, cutlery or a bright sippy cup.

Assignment for parents

Have a scent evening. Show your child what cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg look like. Decide together what decorations you will make for the New Year. You can rehearse today: then, on the eve of the holiday, creating a decor for the New Year 2019 with your own hands will not take you much time.

Task for the child

Together with your mother read the poem "Orange" by L. V. Zubkov. Isn't sharing great?

We were sharing an orange.
There are many of us
And he is alone.

This slice is for a hedgehog.
This slice is for a swift.
This slice is for ducklings.
This slice is for kittens.
This slice is for beaver
And for the wolf - the peel.
He is angry with us - trouble;
Run away - who is where!

Which of the neighbors would you like to treat with a delicious orange or chocolate Santa Claus? How about a lonely grandma from the second floor?

Citrus Christmas tree decorations

To make Christmas decorations from orange slices, you first need to dry them.

Cut the oranges into slices 2 mm thick and place them in the oven on a baking sheet with a stainless steel mesh (not a regular one, otherwise they may burn). Dry citrus fruits in the oven at 120 ° C for 3 hours. Cool and use for New Year's decor!

To decorate you will need:

• dried orange slices
• Carnation
• tape or elastic

Source: ourlittlehouseinthecountry.com

After you've dried the orange slices, little is left to do. Take a clove and decorate the center of each citrus circle with it. Did you smell the scent? Soon he will delight you right up to the New Year!

Now you just need to stretch a beautiful ribbon through the small hole in the slice and hang it on the tree!

Source: ourlittlehouseinthecountry.com

A citrus decor made of crusts will look no less beautiful on the Christmas tree!

To do this, you will need:

• orange, lemon or tangerine
• iron cookie cutter
• stationery knife
• thread

Source: instagram @happy ._. Pappy

Process:

1. Peel the citrus so that the rind remains as intact as possible. Straighten and trim it so that it lies flat on the table.
2. Using a cookie cutter, squeeze out the shape of the herringbone, stars, etc. in the peel
3. Cut the area around the hole from the cutout with a clerical knife so that it is several centimeters larger in diameter from the cut out figure.
4. Paste the cut shape into the picture with the back, soft side.
5. Pull a string on top of the toy, hang it on the tree!

Citrus garland

For such a garland, you will need:

• dried orange slices
• whole dried oranges
• cinnamon sticks
• ribbons
• thread

Source: saga.co.uk

We have already told you how to dry citrus fruits for decoration (in circles) above, but in general, oranges are dried according to the same principle. Only on fresh fruit, you need to make many longitudinal cuts, as shown in the picture and put in the oven for 2-3 hours.

To create a garland, string alternately whole dried oranges and citrus circles, tie cinnamon sticks and ribbons in contrasting colors!

Source: saga.co.uk

You can also create a simple yet cute garland from orange peel... Using molds for New Year's cookies squeeze stars or Christmas trees out of it, dry in the oven and string on a thread!

Source: instagram @mamavkurse

Together with your baby, make an eco-friendly garland for the home of citrus flowers!

For her you will need:

• wooden stick
• rain
• thread
• beads
• bumps
• orange peels

Source: krokotak.com

Process:

Herringbone orange

Small herringbone from orange circles can be a wonderful decoration for the New Year's table!

For her you will need:

• dried orange circles
• wooden rods
• orange peel
• small pot or bucket

Source: Instagram @ all4mammy

Process:

1. String the orange rings on a stick, and on top of the glue gun or super-glue put a star from the dried peel.
2. How to strengthen a craft in a pot: there are many options - you can do salty dough or other modeling mass, tamp in a pot and insert sticks. You can pour sand and stick the twigs in the same way. Well, the most durable way is to use alabaster (can be purchased at a hardware store).
3. After you have strengthened the tree, add some wood shavings, cotton wool, or sprinkle the base with artificial snow.

Another very beautiful decoration for festive table can be made with fresh oranges!

For the Christmas tree, you will need:

• oranges
• worm
• foam cone
• live spruce twigs
• toothpicks

It is now very popular to decorate a room using exclusively environmentally friendly materials.

Dried citrus fruits, including lemons, may well serve as such a material for decoration.

Choosing the right lemons

Before proceeding directly with the process, you need to understand which lemons are suitable for this. The fruit should be firm and ripe. It is necessary to carefully examine the skin so that there are no flaws on it.

The shape of the fruit must be correct, without humps and bulges. Small fruits will not work. They usually have a very thin skin that can burst when cut. They also have a lot of juice, which will make them dry longer. The lemon that works best should be medium in size, with a thick skin and a dry center. When cutting, juice should not flow out of it. But these fruits are usually very large and difficult to find on sale.

Important! If the lemon has a good skin color but is soft, you shouldn't take it. Perhaps the process of decay of the pulp has already begun inside. It will taste bitter and have an unpleasant odor.

Therefore, the usual beautiful, ripe fruit is also fine. If you come across a pale orange lemon, you can safely take it. This will make a great mix.

Citrus preparation

Before drying, the fruits must be prepared. First of all, they need to be washed and allowed to dry. Next, the citruses are cut into width using a knife. The thickness of the slices depends on what you want to end up with.

If you cut it very thinly, then during drying, the slice can break and bend. If the slices are thick, then they will dry much longer, and after drying, they may not have a very aesthetic appearance with a concave center.

The optimal thickness of the slices should be at least 5 mm, and no more than 1.5 cm. In this case, you can use the rule of the golden mean. You can try drying a whole lemon as well. To do this, its skin is cut vertically into strips up to a centimeter wide.

Did you know? In order to prepare a liter of essential oil, you need the peel of three thousand lemons.

When the slices are ready, excess moisture needs to be removed from them. This can be done with napkins or towels. The pulp of each circle is squeezed with your fingers and the juice is gently squeezed out. In this case, it is necessary not to damage the integrity of the walls, otherwise finished product there will be an unattractive presentation.

Drying methods

There are several drying methods. Therefore, before you dry a lemon for decoration, you need to understand how quickly you need to do it.

The fastest way to do this is in an oven or electric dryer; it will take longer to dry naturally. Therefore, we will consider each of them in more detail.

In the oven

The fruit can be dried faster in the oven. For the process itself, you will need a baking sheet or wire rack, parchment paper or foil.

Before you dry a lemon for decoration in the oven, you need to decide on the number of slices that you need.

Those who have done this before are advised to put only one baking sheet with the product in the oven.
But, if desired, you can place both a baking sheet and a wire rack.

1. The baking tray must be washed well. There should be no other products left on it, which can subsequently give the lemon unpleasant odors. Then dry it completely or wipe it. There should be no water residues on it. The baking sheet is covered with parchment or foil, this is done so that the slices do not stick to it.
2. Both together with the baking sheet, and separately, you can use the wire rack. According to experts, the process is faster on it. It is also cleaned of dirt residues and covered with parchment paper.
3. Place the lemon wedges on a baking sheet or wire shelf in the order you like. The main condition is that they should not touch each other.
4. The oven is heated to 50 ° C and a baking sheet is placed there. It should be located in the middle of the instrument. You can place up to two trays, but this is not recommended.
5. Temperature oven can be from 60 ° C to 180 ° C. At low temperatures, the lemon seems to dry out, the shape of the lobule will remain unchanged, but the process will be very slow in time. At high temperatures, there is a possibility that the slices will burn, they may bend, but this will take much less time.
6. The drying time in the oven, depending on its type, the selected temperature and the width of the wedge, can be from 2 to 8 hours.
7. During the drying process, the lemon slices should be turned over from time to time. This will allow them to dry at the same time and prevent them from burning.
8. You can only take it out when the pulp and skin are completely dry. If all the moisture does not go away during drying, the decor items may subsequently become moldy.

In an electric dryer

It is now very popular to decorate a room using exclusively environmentally friendly materials.

Dried citrus fruits, including lemons, may well serve as such a material for decoration.

We will learn how to dry them properly, what methods have been invented for this.

If you have a fruit and vegetable dryer, it will work just fine for a lemon.

1. Prepared circles, namely without excess moisture, are placed on its grates. In this case, the number of gratings does not play a role, since due to the air circulation, the process goes evenly.
2. It is important that the slices do not touch each other.
3. After that, according to the operating instructions for the device, the appropriate mode is selected and the process of making lemon decor begins. Depending on the drying power, lemons dry after 6-8 hours.

Behind the battery

Drying citrus for decoration in a battery is the most budgetary way. Gas and electricity savings are evident, and the fruit dries naturally. It's better if you have old batteries rather than modern radiators.

Important!If you forget or haven't removed the excess moisture from the slices, they may become moldy.

In them, the process will go faster and better, and more slices can be prepared.

1. You will need two pieces of corrugated board to dry. In size, they should be such that they fit between its sections, namely, about 30 cm in length and one third less in width.
2. In the pieces, using any tool, you need to make many through holes at a distance of one from one to a centimeter. Air will circulate through them.
3. Next, citrus slices are laid on one sheet and tightly covered with another. It is necessary that the lemon is tightly pressed against the cardboard on both sides, so the sheets can be fastened with clamps or rolled up with a rope. The slices inside should not "fidget".
4. After that, the "lemon sandwich" is placed between the battery compartments. If they are narrow, then you can dry the bundle at the top, but at the same time it must be turned over periodically. Depending on the temperature of the radiators and air humidity, drying lemon for decoration in a battery lasts from three days to a week.

The process of drying lemon for decoration is quite simple, but somewhat useful tips will not be superfluous.

There is such a concept Life hack (life hack) - a set of techniques and techniques for "hacking" the surrounding life to simplify the process of achieving goals with the help of various useful tips and tricky tricks.

It has passed the middle of autumn. Soon the beauty of winter will come into its own. And I'm sure many scrapers will want to create warm, cozy postcards with memories of the summer.
And what can convey the feeling of warmth better than natural materials? Cinnamon sticks, twigs with berries, dried lemon wedges .....
Today I want to show the results of my experiment to create a dried lemon wedge.
To begin with, I want to demonstrate to you that in your scrap-works you can use not only dried lemons, but also dried berries:

Ranetki:

Rose hip:

Unripe lemon (the size of a 2-ruble coin):

Let's move on to our experiment and cut a lemon))))))

Let's cook in the microwave

Fry in a skillet

Bake in the oven

And here's what I got:
1. These two lemons were dried in the microwave.
Modes:
The first was dried for a minute at a power of 700 watts. It was not completely dry, but it was completely ready after 3 days. It came off relatively well from baking paper. If you want to get a lemon without caramelization, you need to set a shorter cooking time and dry the lemon in the open air.
The second 2 minutes at a power of 700 watts. Completely dry, very light. If you plan to completely paint over the lemon, then this is the fastest option. Although, to be honest, it burned out, as I was distracted while preparing it, and I don't want to use it.

2. Fried lemon.
Be sure to use baking paper, as even from non-lemon it was difficult to separate. There are also inclusions of caramel. The fibers were slightly disturbed during separation, also due to the fact that it was soft at the time of separation, it is imperative to straighten it and dry it. Requires further air drying for 1-2 days. The fibers formed a translucent film and arranged in a very interesting way.

3.Lemon baked in the oven.
Mode: 150 degrees, 20 min.
The lemon is slightly caramelized. Required to air dry for 1-2 days. The fibers formed a translucent film.

4. Dried lemon. This lemon 4 days. At the time of publication, it was not completely dry, but it dried up decently. But in the future, the fibers will be visible well, the color will be uniform. In my opinion, the most optimal option, although not fast.

Enjoy your creativity, interesting experiments and so that the right materials are always at hand. I hope you were interested))))
The ScrapHack rubric is regular, it will be published on the 18th of every month, see you !!!