Dried Orange Christmas Ornaments

Something I really wanted to try this year was drying orange slices and adding them to my Christmas decor.

I had read about putting them into the oven for 3 hours, but I also came across an option to microwave them, so this is the method I went with. 

  Basically, all you need is oranges. So I picked up a 3kg bag of medium oranges at Aldi.

Next I cut them into approximately 1cm thick slices. I tried to keep them approximately the same diameter. In doing so, each orange yielded me approximately 4 slices. 

 

 

As I'd never done this before, it was a bit of trial and error. 

My initial attempt I only put in a few slices. I placed them straight onto a plate and microwaved for 4 minutes, then another 4 minutes, then another 2 minutes.  Then I took them out and placed them on a baking rack to dry. The tops looked okay, but the bottoms caramelised in their own juices on the plate and gave a burnt appearance. They were also a bit sticky.

 

 

 

 

For my second attempt, I loaded up my place with about 12 slices and placed paper towel under them. Then I microwaved for 4 minutes. The slices made the paper towel soggy, so I removed them and placed them on baking paper instead and microwaved for another 4 minutes. They still weren't drying well so I took them out and added 4 slices at a time and microwaved in 1-2 minute intervals until I was happy with them. 

 

 

 

After they were cooled I poked a small hole in the top of a few and threaded jute twine to hang on my tree.

 

 

Something I did notice was that they did shrink a reasonable amount. And for this reason I decided they would look best of my smaller corner tree in the dining room.

The remainder I sealed in a plastic container. I may make a wreath or use them for wrapping decorations. Decisions, decisions.

Overall, I think they turned out okay for a first attempt. They did make the house smell yummy when I was cooking them and still have an orange scent to them on the tree.

 

Any advice for next time greatly appreciated. I still have lots of oranges left!

:) Julie