Last Updated December 18th, 2022 at 07:12 pm by Lisa
Dry Orange Slices make beautiful Christmas decorations and garnishes for a festive holiday season. It is so easy to make dried oranges, and there are dozens of ideas to use these gorgeous citrus slices in drinks, and dishes, as a crafting accent, or to adorn packages, wreaths, or garlands.
One of my favorite ways to decorate for Christmas is with fresh and dry fruit. My parents always made a pair of wreaths for our front doors with fresh and dried lemons, apples, and oranges. To me, it says, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas...
How To Make Dried Orange Slices
The real secret of how to make dehydrated orange slices is the thickness of each slice. If they are too thick, they won't dry out and get icky and moldy because they don't dry all the way. Too thin, and they will get pretty dark as they dry in the oven.
Type of Oranges: Try Navel Oranges, Blood Oranges, Tangerines, Acid-less Oranges, Mandarins, Seville Oranges, Bergamot Oranges, or Clementines.
- The first step is to wash and dry the whole oranges or citrus fruits. You can use any type of citrus, or any kind of orange. Try regular Navel oranges, blood oranges, lemons, limes, or tangerines. They should be ripe firm oranges or citrus.
- For best results, slice oranges ⅛ inch, evenly. Use a small sharp knife, preferably a serrated knife. If you have a mandoline slicer, those work great. Next, lay the thin slices flat on a parchment paper lined large baking sheet or a Silpat mat on a sheet pan in a single layer.
- Dry off each of the citrus wheels on the sheet pan with clean paper towels, this helps the drying process go a bit faster.
Oven Drying Method
- Heat the oven temperature to 200 degrees, and place the sheet pans on the oven racks, dry the oranges for 2 hours. Check them, and flip over all the slices to help them dry. Gently dab with a clean paper towel.
- Dry another 2.5-3 hours until the oranges turn clear and the orange peels are dry. Check them each hour. The total time will vary based on if your oven is gas or electric, plan on at least 3-4 hours minimum.
Food Dehydrator Method
- Follow your dehydrator instructions, most will take 5-8 hours at the lowest setting, 135 degrees to get the dehydrated slices dry all the way through.
- Store in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight, not the fridge. A sealed plastic bag, Ziploc bag or a glass jar, like Mason jars are the easiest ways to store them. Use them within a few weeks. Their shelf life varies based on how dry they are once stored and humidity, and room temperature.
Orange Drying Top Tips
The drying process will vary based on the thickness of your slices, the humidity, and whether you have a gas or electric oven, as those both bake differently even at the lower temperature.
Also, sometimes the oranges dry differently and can get large holes during the drying process as the orange pulp dehydrates. That's okay! There are so many ways to use them all in recipes or decorating. Keep reading for all the ideas...
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Ways To Use Dry Orange Slices
There are so many easy ways to use slices of dehydrated oranges for the holidays as Christmas Decorations, in your recipes, and for food gifts.
These are a great way to decorate inexpensively, and have a craft project to enjoy on a cold day as the oven is on! Also, there is something so beautiful about using fresh greenery and fruit for holiday decorations.
Gourmet Garnishes & Marinades
One of the best ways to use orange slices is to surround a beautiful Beef Roast, Roast Turkey, or Cherry Pork Loin Roast on a platter with fresh herbs like rosemary, and sprinkle a few fresh or dried cranberries or cherries.
I included a few holiday recipe ideas below by the recipe card for ways to use your dried oranges for festive garnishing. You also can chop and add them to wet marinades to which is a great way to flavor beef or chicken recipes.
Christmas Tree Decorations
Hang them on your Christmas tree, simply push a hook through to hang them on branches or tie them on with ribbon.
Citrus fruits have adored decorated trees for a long time in our homes, possibly hundreds of years, and are some of the earliest known holiday decor items.
During the holidays, natural fruits are great decorations that add a vintage charm for an old-fashioned Christmas...
Garlands & Wreaths
You can tie dried citrus slices into wreaths and garlands, using thin floral wire. Or string them together using twine or ribbon for a vintage look.
Add a few to a natural wreath, apples and other fruit work well too. Use as holiday decorations for tree ornaments or Christmas garlands and add in some nice pine cones on greenery.
Fresh fruit looks so gorgeous on a wreath! It takes less time to use fresh real fruit, and the great thing is it looks beautiful. But the wreath won't last as long as when you use dried fruit.
One year I was inspired to make a tropical wreath with fresh mini pineapples, fresh apples, whole oranges, lemons, some pinecones, and flowers like hibiscus, bird of paradise, Hawaiian heliconias, and tropical tea leaves...
Dating back to the 16th century, people in Germany are credited with using candles, apples, and berries on their Christmas trees as decorations.
Dry Oranges ~ Gourmet Food Ideas
OLIVE OILS: Infuse dried orange slices into olive oil as a gourmet gift in tall glass jars with a bow.
HEALTHY SNACK: For a great snack, try dark chocolate oranges. On low heat, make melted chocolate, dip the dried orange slices halfway in, then sprinkle with some sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Cool, and enjoy!
ORANGE FLAVORED SALT: Make orange Flavored Salt simply grind dry oranges fine into an orange powder using a clean coffee grinder, and add to sea salt to season meat dishes.
CAKE DECORATIONS: Use them as cake decorations, for a pretty natural look on holiday cakes or cupcakes.
Drink Garnishes
Float a dry orange slice on a festive holiday cocktail, a cup of hot tea, or pop into a cup of hot apple cider.
Float as a cocktail garnish in holiday drinks and cocktails like Mulled Wine or in Hibiscus Tea Cocktails.
Dried Oranges ~ Holiday Gift Ideas
GIFT WRAPPING ACCENTS: Use them as fun ways to wrap packages, tie some onto brown craft paper-wrapped gifts with twine and some sprigs of greenery, berries, or cinnamon sticks.
BATH SOAKS: Use as a foot or bath soak, put a few in a small cotton muslin bag, and fill it with dry cloves, cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and Epsom salts. Soak in a nice warm bath!
POTPOURRI: Make stovetop potpourri with fruit, cinnamon, and apples to make your house smell amazing, and toss in some dry oranges! You can add them to dry mulling spices as well and wrap them up in a jar for a homemade gift.
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More Holiday Recipes
These are some of my favorite holiday side dishes and they work for your
Christmas and Thanksgiving menu to make year after year...
A Turkey Dry Brine adds bold flavor to your whole bird, and is a perfect way to make your Thanksgiving dinner delicious. Create a really good spice blend right from your kitchen!
With this step-by-step recipe, learn how to roast the turkey in a flatter shape. A Spatchcock Turkey gives every bit of the surface a chance to turn and even golden brown all over.
The holiday season is filled with big meals and rich heavy food. Let your palate take a welcomed break with a few bites of a Fresh Cranberry Relish along with your Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
During the Christmas season, it is great to have a non alcoholic Christmas Punch along with holiday cocktails.
A modern twist on Cranberry Sauce, this simple recipe as fresh pineapple and oranges. It has a wonderfully balanced sweetness with only 4 ingredients and is much lower in sugar than traditional recipes.
A festive, easy, Christmas Salad made with fresh ingredients and a Cranberry Vinaigrette (made in a Mason jar) will be the talk of your holiday party or Christmas dinner. Shape this salad like a Christmas tree and decorate it with "garland, ornaments, and snow".
A festive red and green Christmas Holiday Salad with an easy pomegranate vinaigrette Mason jar dressing, topped with gorgeous sparkling pomegranate seeds, D'Anjou pears for the little trees, spicy candied pecans, ruby red dried cranberries, and juicy raspberries.
Cherry Balsamic Pork Roast is perfect for family dinners, entertaining, or the holidays. An easy 10-minute prep pork loin recipe that serves a crowd.
How To Make Dried Orange Slices
Ingredients
- 3 whole navel oranges
Instructions
- The first step is to wash and dry the whole oranges or citrus fruits. You can use any type of citrus, or any kind of orange. Try regular Navel oranges, blood oranges, lemons, limes, or tangerines. They should be ripe firm oranges or citrus.
- For best results, slice oranges ⅛ inch, evenly. Use a small sharp knife, preferably a serrated knife. If you have a mandoline slicer, those work great.Next, lay the thin slices flat on a parchment paper lined large baking sheet or a Silpat mat on a sheet pan in a single layer.
- Dry off each of the citrus wheels on the sheet pan with clean paper towels, this helps the drying process go a bit faster.
Oven Drying Method
- Heat the oven temperature to 200 degrees, and place the sheet pans on the oven racks, dry the oranges for 2 hours. Check them, and flip over all the slices to help them dry. Gently dab with a clean paper towel.
- Dry another 2.5-3 hours until the oranges turn clear and the orange peels are dry. Check them each hour. The total time will vary based on if your oven is gas or electric, plan on at least 3-4 hours minimum.
Food Deyhdrator Method
- Follow your dehydrator instructions, most will take 5-8 hours at the lowest setting, 135 degrees to get the dehydrated slices dry all the way through.
- Store in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight, not the fridge. A sealed plastic bag, Ziploc bag or a glass jar, like Mason jars are the easiest ways to store them. Use them within a few weeks. Their shelf life varies based on how dry they are once stored and humidity, and room temperature.
- Type of Oranges: Navel Oranges, Blood Oranges, Tangerines, Acid-less Oranges, Mandarins, Seville Oranges, Bergamot Oranges, or Clementines.
These are so easy to make and beautiful on our tree, we loved making them as a family.