This year at Thanksgiving my grandparents bought a bulk bag of lemons to use for some recipes, and had plenty of leftovers. I’m known in my family to take just about any excess ingredients that would other wise end up wasted, so the lemons went home with me!
I had started to dehydrate them to use throughout the year, and while I was waiting for my first batch to finish I saw some posts with this beautiful garland. This is a super easy way to put a little more DIY into your holidays!
What Kind of Citrus Can I Use?
I used lemons only, because that’s what I had on hand, but any type of citrus would work! Limes, grapefruits, and oranges would all add a beautiful variety to your garland.
Do You Need a Dehydrator?
No! I have one that was given to me by a friend who dabbled in making jerky for a while, but if it wasn’t for that I would still be using my oven to dehydrate! Some ovens now have a dehydrate setting on them, but a regular oven set to the lowest temperature possible works just as well!
Wait- You can eat dehydrated citrus?
Yes! It can be used in any way that you use fresh lemon. The color of the slices will possibly be darker because of the sugars cooking during the drying process, but they are still very much edible! However, I wouldn’t use your garland citrus as food after the holidays. There’s too much of a chance of the garland being contaminated.
What Materials do you need?
This craft uses things that most people have at home already.
- Citrus of your choosing
- A sharp knife to slice
- A dehydrator or-
- A pan with a wire rack ~or~ some parchment paper
- A darning needle
- Twine or embroidery floss
**You may be able to get away with a regular needle and thread if you know that no little hands or furry friends will be tugging on the garland, but most threads will break easily.
Dehydrated Citrus
Equipment
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Dehydrator rack ~or~ oven pan with wire rack or parchment paper
Ingredients
- Citrus Fruit of your Choosing
Instructions
- Slice your citrus fruits into 1/4" slices. Try to be as uniform as possible so each slice dries at the same time.
- Lay Citrus on your pan or rack in a single layer.
If Using A Dehydrator
- Turn dehydrator on to lowest temperature and set timer for 6 hours, insert citrus into dehydrator.
- Check your citrus at the 6 hour mark. Times will vary based on many things including humidity, temperature of dehydrator, and thickness of slices.
- Slices should be crisp and no longer tacky to the touch. If not, return to the dehydrator and add more time.
If Using The Oven
- Turn the oven on the lowest temperature possible, and insert the pans of citrus slices. If your oven's minimum temperature is still in the upper 200's (Fahrenheit), you may want to leave the oven door cracked to keep the fruit from baking before it dries out.
- Check your citrus at the 2 hour mark. Flip over to ensure even drying. Check citrus every 2 hours and flip until slices are crisp and no longer tacky to the touch.
If Preserving for later food use
- Once the fruit had dried, store in an air container. Fill about 2/3 full. DO NOT pack too tightly. The fruit needs space to move around.
- Condition the fruit by shaking the container once a day for at least a week. If slices start to stick together or moisture is seen in the jar, remove from jar and dehydrate again, then start the conditioning process over. (Please reference https://nchfp.uga.edu for more information on preserving for more information)
Notes
Making the Garland
- To Make the garland, simply use your needle and thread to “sew” the garland together going in on one side of the fruit and out the other side so that the slice is facing outward. Make to your desired length, then use in your decorations!
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