Dehydrated citrus
If you’ve got lemons, oranges, mandarins or grapefruit in the garden, why not ferret some away for ‘ron! These citrus slices then become akin to a cinnamon quill - perfect for splicing up a drink like a sangria or negroni, or brewed into tea, but equally as glorious bobbing about in a bath or swished into the fireplace.
PRINT
Ingredients
- Lemons, oranges, mandarins or grapefruit
Instructions
- Slice up your citrus against the grain as evenly as you can, between 3-4mm thick. Use a mandolin if you’ve got one, or a very sharp knife if you can confidently slice evenly.
- Line metal cooling racks or oven trays with baking paper and place your slices over the top, trying not to overlap the slices at all - you should be able to get an orange’s worth of slices across each baking tray. If you have a dehydrator, pop into the racks and stack.
If using the oven
- Bake in the oven at 90℃ (or the lowest your oven comfortably goes) until completely dry, for between 8-10 hours (or overnight if you can take your oven to more like 60℃ instead). Keep an eye on how they're going and (especially if using a tray rather than a rack) flip the citrus over halfway to help with an even dry.
If using a dehydrator
- Follow your dehydrator instructions for temperature level. They normally take between 8-10 hours, so it’s a nice one to do as an overnighter.
- You need these to be completely dry, if there is any moisture left they will grow mould.
- Store in an airtight container until ready to use.
Notes
Bonus recipe - Sangria citrus mix jars
Add 3-4 slices into each jar or muslin bag, along with 1 cinnamon stick, and 2-3 star anise. This could also make a great mulled wine mix - whatever your receiver is into.
