NOTHING CALLS FOR ORANGE SLICES LIKE THIS TIME OF YEAR
Cosy dark nights and a real crispness in the air.
We are pleased to report that, after years of trying to master the art of drying fruit slices, we have finally cracked it with orange slices.
We have had numerous failed attempts in a conventional oven, we usually end up leaving them in too long or am impatient by not cooking them on a low enough heat, so this year, after a lot of searching we found these(CLICK HERE) instructions, which uses a microwave, and we have got the most amazing professional looking results.
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE DRIED ORANGE SLICES
Use a good quality orange, which is juicy and fragrant. This will mean that even when they are dry, you will get a lovely fragrance from them.
We did have a senior moment here at The Crafty Co and cut the first orange the wrong way. The navel of the orange should be facing out to the side and not at the top, but as we love oranges, it wasn’t wasted and went down a treat.
How thick you cut the slices is a personal choice. We cut them fairly thin so we could get more slices from the orange. If you choose to make thicker ones, they will take longer to dry.
Click HERE for the microwave instructions.
We found that after microwaving, there was still a lot of surplus juice in the slices. Using a clean piece of kitchen paper, carefully press out as much liquid as you can. Be very gentle as you don’t want to damge the segments. Once you have removed the juice, place the segments somewhere warm to dry. Place them down separately so they don’t stick together.
With the air-drying part of the process, keep them as flat as possible and turn them every day to stop them curling up too much.
Due to the fact that ours were thin, they only took a couple of days to dry out and they didn’t shrink much.
They are a perfect partner to cinnamon sticks and are a fab way to spruce up holly. We even hung ours on the tree.
And don’t stop at oranges, how about using lemon or limes.
They certainly add that handmade touch to Christmas, go on, give it a try.
We love seeing your creations and makes, so don’t forget to tag us #CraftyCoCreations
Happy Crafting.
The Crafty Co
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