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!
First things first: preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Low and slow is the name of the game here!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Easy easy! All in all, this DIY took about 6 hours and minimal effort! Great project for a day at home!
