Dehydrating Oranges

I am putting this in as a craft for the holidays as I tend to use this as decoration and in my simmer pots (which is a recipes coming later in the countdown)

What you will need;

• Oven or dehydrator (I have a dehydrator but I’m not using it this time)

• As many oranges as you want to dehydrate (I’m only using one for this day due to some unfortunate dropping issue)

• Parchment paper (if you are using a dehydrator this might depend on the shape. Mine is round so I don’t like fiddling with parchment)

• Baking sheet (only if you are using your oven)

• Knife

• Cutting board

How it is done;

If you are using a dehydrator I usually look up the temperature that it suggests for what I am dehydrating. For my oven, however, I keep the temperature as low as it will go (I only use the oven if I have all day to use it).

Turn on whatever device you are using to preheat.

Take your oranges and slice them up as thin as you want (remember the thinner you have them the less time it will take to dehydrate regardless of what device you are using).

Make sure if you are using a baking sheet it has parchment paper on it (I’ve tried aluminum foil and it doesn’t work as well for me).

Place oranges on the tray (regardless if it is the dehydrator tray or the baking sheet).

When the device you are using is up to temperature place the sheets in the machine.

This is where it gets tricky. There is no actual timing for dehydration. The best you can do is watch the oranges and wait until they are done (this will take hours).

When they are all dry place them in your air-tight container.

Monitor them for condensation on the inside of the jar. If you see some they have to be dried further or you risk them spoiling.