Before the New Year holidays, people often start thinking about how to make a decor that not only looks beautiful, but also fills the air with a delicate aroma. Citrus fruits easily cope with the task – they can be placed in a beautiful vase on the table or simply prepared correctly. For this, it is important to know how to dry an orange for decoration correctly.

You can prepare a dried orange in several ways:

  • in the oven;
  • in the microwave;
  • in a frying pan;
  • on battery;
  • outdoors;
  • in an electric dryer.

Let’s consider all options in detail.

How to dry an orange for decoration at home

In the oven

There are many ways to obtain dried orange slices. The easiest way to do this is in the oven. To dry citrus in the oven, you will need:

  • oranges;
  • powdered sugar;
  • a board for processing vegetables;
  • than;
  • parchment;
  • deco

Oranges are thoroughly washed under running water, wiped and cut into circles. The lobules should not be very thin, because they shrink when dried. The resulting circles are carefully wiped with napkins, removing excess moisture.

The baking sheet is covered with pre-prepared parchment, and pieces of orange are placed there. Everything is sent to the oven heated to 100 degrees. It is important to remember that periodically the door of the oven must be opened to turn the product, so nothing will burn. If necessary, the fire is removed. The finished fruit is transferred to a dish and left for several days until it dries completely.

If before the start of cooking, the orange is sprinkled with powdered sugar, then a wonderful pattern will later form on the surface, and an unusual glow will appear. However, it is undesirable to use a lot of sugar, otherwise it will burn and add an unpleasant aftertaste to the orange pieces.

Cooking in a pan and in the microwave

There is another popular method. To prepare particles, you need to take:

  • slices of orange;
  • parchment;
  • frying pan

Parchment is placed on the bottom of the pan, orange slices are carefully placed on it. Then the dishes are placed on the burner on a slow fire. At the same time, you need to try to move the pieces from one side to the other more often so that they dry faster.

To quickly get dried citrus slices for decoration and food, some housewives use a microwave oven. For this method, you need to prepare:

  • orange slices;
  • parchment;
  • refractory plate.

Parchment is placed on a flat plate, orange slices are laid out. The dishes are sent to the microwave for 30 seconds. It is necessary to carefully monitor that the orange does not burn.

Electric dryer and battery

Everything is very simple here. The cut orange is placed on the shelf of an electric dryer and left for a day. Perhaps drying will be faster, it all depends on the power of the device. Colorful particles are obtained. For battery drying, you need to take:

  • cardboard;
  • awl;
  • sliced ​​orange.

Cardboard is taken, on which many small holes should be made with a screwdriver or an awl. They will be needed for air flow. Then pieces of citrus are laid out on the cardboard. This building is placed on a warm battery.

Drying lasts about 2-3 days. At the same time, all particles should be periodically turned over for uniform drying. Then place the citrus fruit on the table for about a day so that it dries completely.

Fresh air

In addition, you can consider the simplest, but long option. For drying in the fresh air, you will need:

  • orange;
  • parchment;
  • flat plate

The plate is covered with parchment, then orange circles are placed on it. The workpiece is taken out into the fresh air and placed under the sun’s rays, thanks to which the decorative element will be ready in a few days.

how to dry oranges

Tips for drying

In order to properly turn a simple citrus into a fragrant decor element, you need to follow a few tips. This is how you can dry an orange for decoration:

  • All fruits should be cut into pieces 3 mm thick.
  • The slices will not darken during the drying period and will retain their original appearance if they are pre-soaked for 10 minutes in an aqueous solution with the addition of lemon juice. Next, you need to carefully wipe, removing excess moisture, and only then dry in any way.
  • After drying, citrus fruits become incredibly fragile, so they must be handled with extreme care.
  • Fruit juice is sweet, so the particles can easily stick to the paper. In this case, they need to be carefully removed with a sharp object or with your hands.
  • In order for the fruits to look as if they are from the frost, instead of sugar, you need to take gelatin and dry them only on hot batteries. Of course, you can also use the oven, but the temperature in it should be 60 degrees.
  • Bright shades of orange in dried form are stored for almost 6 months. On the eve of every New Year, you need to prepare new decorations.
  • Fruit slices will look lighter if they are dried naturally on the battery.
  • Oven-dried fruit looks much darker because it gives off a lot of moisture. As a result, they become fragile, so you need to work with them carefully.
  • Pieces dried on cardboard have a flat surface, and those strung in the form of a garland have a curved surface.
  • Lemon or orange should not be thoroughly wiped before drying, so as not to accidentally damage the picture.

Recommendations will be needed if there is a desire to make the decor element externally attractive. After that, you can use the tips for using orange.

Citrus for decoration, dried in any way, is an excellent material for New Year’s decoration. There are several ideas for using dried fruit:

  1. Dried orange slices are used in cooking due to their useful properties. They are prepared in various ways, except for the battery. Perfect for preparing various desserts. For more aroma, they can be sprinkled with ground cinnamon or powdered sugar.
  2. Dried orange rings in a jar look incredibly beautiful. It is very pleasant to take them out and put them in tea. In addition, such a product can be used to prepare delicious mulled wine or another warming drink.
  3. Dried orange circles can also be used in the form of Christmas tree decorations and when making a beautiful composition intended for gift wrapping.

Oranges whole and in the form of rings

Dried citrus fruits always look very tempting. Moreover, the method of obtaining them is quite easy to use. The orange should be cut with a knife, leaving the top and bottom uncut so that it does not fall apart.

Then you should put it to dry on the battery, sometimes turning it over. At the same time, it is advisable to ensure that the incisions are not closed, because the juice evaporates through them. If this happens, then you just need to update them. After some time, the incisions will become wider, and the crust will become dry and hard.

New Year’s garland made of citrus fruits looks incredibly colorful and charming. For this:

  • Wash the citrus fruits thoroughly and cut them into rings about 6 mm thick with a sharp knife.
  • Each slice is dried and placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment.
  • Everything is placed in an oven heated to 100 degrees.
  • The drying process takes about 2 hours, but every 20 minutes you need to check and turn the rings so that they do not burn.
  • Take the blanks out of the oven, cool and treat with hairspray. After that, they need to be strung on a rope.

When choosing a method of how to properly dry oranges for decoration (you can also use tangerine or pomegranate), you must take into account the time you will have to spend. If you constantly follow all the rules of drying at home, then as a result, the unusual decoration will certainly please the owners and guests of the house.

In addition, dried citrus fruits are considered an excellent alternative to fresh fruits, because they retain all their vitamins during the drying process. Thanks to this, such treats are much more useful than any candies and cookies.

How to dry an orange for decoration at home