YAY! A success!
I've tried drying oranges before and ended up with curly, dark brown lumps with no resemblance to those pretty round slices purchased from craft shops and florists.
This time, I decided to actually research how to do these properly. I even got compliments from a florist on the great results! *patsback*
So here's how.... and it won't cost a fortune and you don't need a dehydrator.
You will need: Oranges, sharp knife and an oven. (pretty self explanatory really)
1) Preheat the oven to 75-100C (150-200F), some sites say to have the oven at a higher temperature but I found this makes the orange slices turn brown rather than stay a nice orange. They also say to turn the slices a few times but I didn't (because I never totally follow directions.... that wouldn't be me, now would it?) The only ones I turned were the ones which were bending a little or in danger of falling through the rack.
2) Get yourself some nice, firm, barely ripe oranges. You can do this with pretty much any citrus fruit or apples and pears. I've found that the firmer fruit works best as it won't squish as much when you cut it and won't cover you in too much juice. I don't suggest watermelon. You might be waiting a while.
2) Slice the fruit into nice slices approx. 1cm thick
3) Lay the slice flat on the oven rack. This is the secret to flat dried orange slices!
4) Let dry over 3 or 4 hours. I didn't actually time it, I just kept checking every so often to see how it was progressing.
Oh but if you are drying apples, there is no hope in getting nice flat rounds. Don't even waste your time.
But if doing oranges, this is what you end up with.
Then, I ordered some bath salts on the internet and did this....
Haven't a clue how I am going to use these things but I will find something.
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