Drying orange slices

[Rainyplace]

Anyone drying oranges? I have just started, I usually dry over 100 oranges, first batch in the Aga at the moment, my kitchen smells lovely, also rosehips drying too!

[beadsbydesign]

I make loads of pot pourri for selling at christmas. I dry oranges, rosehips, hawthorne berries and loads of other scraps I forage from the hedgerows. I have to say though, you are very luckky to have an aga, I'd love one, but as my kitchen is roughly only the size of two agas it's not a good idea.
I do often manage to burn a load of oranges. i just forget they are there.

[craftsensations]

Oooo how do you go about drying oranges an dthings then??? I'm intrigued! Sorry - dense question I'm sure but sounds like something i might try - just for fun! I'm well into the whole idea of Christmas already...

[Rainyplace]

I usually slice fairly thinly, place between an old fluffy towel to press out excess juice. Place on racks and dry in simmering and plate warming oven of Aga. Keep checking and turning as necessary. I have forgotten the occasional rack full and they come out like burnt crisps. I also open up pine cones in the ovens and use on wreaths.

[craftsensations]

Ooooo I think I may give this a go! Although, I already have visions of disaster and the smoke alarm going off :D

How long do you usually leave them in for? And once you've toweld off the juices, do you cover them with anything when they are in the oven?

[Rainyplace]

Nope dont cover them with anything. Just took last rack out, they have been in about 3 hours, but do keep watching!

[craftsensations]

Cool - thanks! Ooo I'm very excited! Just got find a spare 3 hours now! I mean obviously I realise I don't have to sit and watch them solidly for 3 hours but you know what I mean!! :D

Thanks for sharing anyway - will keep you posted as to how it goes!! Or you may just hear the fire engine....;)

[beadsbydesign]

I put alsorts in my standard oven. Just use a low heat and leave in for hours but do check.
I also stick logs, bark etc in the oven to dry.
Don't use the microwave to do it though. I once put a log in the microwave and it emerged smoking. I thought it was just drying out and so I left it on the side and went out to collect Eden. when I got back i found it had a lovely flame leaping out of the top!:mf:

[frances2710]

Hi

I attempted this last year, as I bought a tree and realised I had nothing to put on it!

I have to admit that my attempts weren't too great - I burnt half of them, but it was a great, aromatic way to use up my old, wrinkly oranges and decorate my tree with natural things at the same time.

Top tips for temperature and time would be appreciated for this year!

x

[autumn rose]

Hi Frances,

My Top Tip for drying oranges would always be lowest heat possible, and dont forget to leave the oven door ajar, otherwise they cook instead of just drying. Good Luck with the drying, are you using them for Pot pourri? or something else? The house smells lovely when you are drying doesnt it? makes you feel all christmasey

[casbah]

ok the " silliest question " of the day..................... how long do they last once dried? ( do they rot?)

[onlyme]

Not a silly question - I'd like to know too?

Also, what else can you dry say, for a Christmas wreath? I have a huge holly bush and would love to use some of it up.

[cosmic grammie]

would you need to dry holly leaves ? or just stick them in the wreath...

I leave the oven door open - set on warm...things take about 24 hours to dry, depending on the thickness...am having trouble drying my pear head/face...have scorched the back of it that sits on the cookie sheet.

I turn everything every hour...not the pear head...

I really need to get racks...and A BOOK...I've got one from the library on flower drying - lots of ideas for next spring's flower garden. This year it
was mainly roses, sunflowers, marigolds, and then herbs - bay leaves, rosemary springs, sage springs, chamomile flowers. My dried zinnias did not last well.

My rose hips turned black in the drying process.

[NoisetteHandmade]

Wow thanks for this. I'll be trying this one too.

[C Hupfield Ceramics]

I'm gonna dry out slices of fruit to display on my stall at craft fairs, in my dishes etc, they will look especially nice at this time of year leading up to christmas.

Do they really take 24 hours to dry out completely?? My mum would have a fit if i left the oven on that long :mf:

[Chattycathy]

Thank goodness I came across these threads! I'm making a Halloween wreath & bought oranges to slice & dry out tomorrow but wasnt sure how to!:)

[abmazing]

I bet the smell in that kitchen is divine!

[Chattycathy]

I've mine in drying now...hopefully they will look as good as they smell & not be like burnt crisps!

[cosmic grammie]

Sometimes even longer - 36 to 48 hours.

[Crafts in Cambridgeshire]

I tried drying orange slices for a christmas wreath a couple of years ago, they seemed fine at first but within a few days of displaying them they became sticky! Not the look I was hoping for really! :-D
What did I do wrong?? Could it be that I didn't dry them for long enough?

Any tips would be very much appreciated!

xXx

[cosmic grammie]

Were they absorbing moisture from the air?

Maybe dry them longer, then once you're certain they are totally dried out, perhaps spray then VERY LIGHTLY (i.e., hardly at all) with clear acrylic spray.

If you dry things in silica gel or borax, there is always a slight residue that you never notice, and that absorbs moisture and makes the botanical go limp.

[Crafts in Cambridgeshire]

Yes, it's quite possible they were absorbing moisture from the air - the wreath was hanging in my porch which isn't exactly the warmest, driest place!!
I'll try drying them for a bit longer this year and also hang them in a more suitable place!!

Thank you! :-)
xXx

[Morag]

Hi I haven't tried drying anything yet but i'd like to try the oranges for Christmas. Would it be the same with apples? Last year I stuck cloves round some oranges to make a bit of a christmassy display. I like to collect the fruit in the autumn and make different things like damson gin and chutney's. Do you cook with the things you collect?

[sparklyshoes]

I was given by my mum a drying rack...its like a heated bottom with a fan, and layers/trays that sit on top of it. For drying herbs and mushrooms mainly, but I'm going to play with it with oranges...it must work, surely!?

*will post progess*

[Ladybenj]

You can dry them in the microwave - slice them, put them on some kitchen roll and it takes literally minutes to do!

[cosmic grammie]

Sparkly, is it the same as a food dehydrator? It should work just great, but make sure the slices are not too close to the element if it gets quite warm...

Lady, I have always wondered about microwaving them. Do they really DRY, or do they just bake fast and get tough and appear dried, well, are dried because they baked, though perhaps they look wonderful never-the-less. I am going to have to try it and compare. Do they keep their color well??

[Millicent]

I'm just having my first go at drying orange slices, so fingers crossed! We have an old ceramic stove and I've popped them in the oven of that and I'm hoping the temperature is right. Have taken on board the advice here to keep checking!

[cosmic grammie]

Keep it low, keep the door open...you're not cooking them, you;re drying them! I am going to slice some orange peel tonight and put in to dry out and curl up, to put in mulled wine....wonder if they'll float on the top...sort of...