Edible and decorative — the best of both worlds

Have you eaten dried fruit? Are you a fan? If you don’t like to eat them perhaps I can entertain you with a few other ideas that may be of interest. Drying citrus fruit is a great activity to do on a lazy fall Sunday. Last weekend, I got up early, made a latte (several) and enjoyed a lovely morning in the kitchen. I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I love to hunker down in comfy clothes with a morning coffee in hand and make homemade treats or crafts.

“Crafters do not make mistakes. They just add a new design element.” — Unknown

I decided to dry orange slices but you can use any type of citrus fruit. Everything from orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit. Dehydrated fruit is great for a number of reasons — they’re edible and great for making homemade decorations.

I don’t use a dehydrating machine, I use my oven. If you’re going to do this though, make sure you have lots of time. You’ll see why when we break down how to make it. It’s probably one of the easiest things you can do but you’ll need time on your side.

Dried fruit, like orange slices, look amazing on garland, in a centerpiece, on a wreath and even on a Christmas tree. I do recommend you Google, “dried orange slices decoration” as the ideas are endless. I haven’t yet decided what craft to make with mine so in the interest of time, I decided to show you how I apply them to an adult wobbly pop.

A gin and tonic to be exact. A lovely bevvie to sip on while making dinner.

I’m not here to promote drinking by any means but, to me, this particular G&T isn’t complete without dried oranges. If you’re wondering why it has a purple and blue colouring, it’s because I used a Canadian gin called Empress 1908 Gin. Its flavour is intensified by adding a bit of citrus. Dried orange slices not only adds to the overall flavour, it

adds to the presentation. I like to put a couple of the dried orange slices inside the glass and add another on top for decoration.

What do you think? I love when you can dress things up with such little effort but it looks like you spent forever doing it. You can easily put dried orange slices in a virgin drink too. Remember, there are always options. Think sparkling water, tonic water or soda water with a splash of your favourite fruit juice.

“Gincident. An event which happened due to one too many gins.” — Unknown

Well, if you’re going to make dried orange slices I guess I should really tell you how, hey? If you’re looking to make this for beverage purposes, one orange should do the trick for about four drinks. However, if you want to use it for crafting purposes, you will likely need more. Three sliced oranges provided me with enough to fill two baking trays.

First, preheat your oven to 200. Then, cut the oranges in thin slices. See the picture for perspective. Next, take a baking sheet (or several if you want to do a few layers in the oven) and line it with parchment paper. Then add a rack on top. You’ll want this for separation to allow the heat to get to both sides of the slices. Put the tray (or trays) into the oven for at least five to six hours. You’ll have to stay close as they need to be turned over at every hour to ensure they dry evenly. Once done, take them out and let them cool.

“Orange is the happiest colour.”

— Frank Sinatra

Whatever you decide to make with your dried orange slices I’m sure it will definitely be fit to eat … er … make? Look at? Ugh!

See what happens when things are both edible and decorative? Happy dehydrating foodie friends. To Google I go to see what craft I’ll make next.