It's that time of year when you start seeing dried citrus everywhere! I have wanted to make some for years, and I finally did it! I love that it can be used for seasonal garlands or as a cocktail or food garnish! For now, mine are sitting on the counter in mason jars, looking cute! I might try to make a garland with them this year and see how I like it.
As you might imagine, this is a super simple DIY, but it does take a *long* time. Ha! I think my slices took about 6 hours total. I'm breaking each step down for you below! If you've never made/used dried citrus before, I would 10/10 recommend it! :) I'm also planning to use mine as place card holders for some fall dinner parties!
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First things first: preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Low and slow is the name of the game here!
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Up next, slicing your citrus! The slices have to be THIN! It's best if you can make them all a uniform thickness so they dehydrate at the same rate. A lot of posts I saw recommended using a mandoline slicer, and I have one, but I opted to use a sharp chef's knife because I wasn't too concerned about uniformity, since I anticipate using these in cocktails and as garnishes. If you want a citrus garland, it may be helpful to have more uniform slices.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and start arranging your citrus slices on the pan. If you don't use parchment, your slices will stick to the pan.
Bake them for 2 hours, then flip each slice over with tongs and rotate the pan so they bake evenly.
Bake for another 2 hours and repeat...flip and rotate! The goal is to get rid of ALL the moisture from each slice.
You can charge your parchment paper to a fresh sheet and bake for another 2 hours.
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You'll find that your lemons and limes bake faster than your orange slices! You'll know they're done when they are brittle, and not sticky to the touch at all.
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I just LOVE how they turned out! I think the lemons are my favorite because of how they colored - so pretty!
To store: seal in an air tight container and they'll last up to a year! Longer, if you are using them as decor, but if you're serving with food, stick to a one-year shelf life.
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Easy easy! All in all, this DIY took about 6 hours and minimal effort! Great project for a day at home!
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