Drying oranges: here’s how to decorate and perfume your entire home!
Oranges are one of those foods that we can define as multifunctional. Delicious when eaten alone, they can be included in many recipes, both sweet and savory
Their high vitamin C content makes them an excellent ally to increase our immune defenses.
Today, however, we focus on another characteristic: the smell. Fresh and persistent, it will fill the house with an energetic and sunny aroma.
How to take advantage of the scent of oranges
To be able to use the scent of this fruit, to perfume our home, it will be necessary to dry it first.
Below we will see what methods we can use. For all, however, it will be necessary to start with the same operation and even before with the choice of fruit.
We only buy thick-skinned organic oranges. This will guarantee a more persistent and healthier smell.
To dry them, we must first wash them and cut them into thin slices. Then place them on a sheet of absorbent paper for half an hour to remove some of the juice.
If we want, so as not to waste anything, while we wait to be able to use the dried oranges, we can place the sheet soaked in juice on top of a radiator.
When it dries, it will release a delicious aroma throughout the house.
Various methods for drying oranges.
Once our fruits have been washed, cut and dried, we must choose which method to use to dry them:
We can use the oven at home. In this case, we place the slices on a sheet of baking paper and bake at 90° for 3 hours. After half the time, we turn them over.
A faster method is to put the oranges in the microwave for a few minutes at medium power. We check the level of drying from time to time to prevent them from burning.
The most natural way possible to dry oranges is to simply air them out. Place them on a stand where the sun shines directly. We will have to wait at least seven days and then turn them over, letting them rest for another seven days, so that they dry on both sides. If we are not in a hurry this is the method for us.
In order not to waste a day, without our house smelling of citrus, we can dry the slices directly on the radiators. Place them on top of a sheet of paper and place them on the radiators. In seven days they will be ready for later use.
Drying oranges: How to use the slices to perfume the house
Once we have obtained our beautiful dried orange slices, their use depends only on our imagination.
If we are only interested in the smell, place them inside small cotton bags. Place them in various places around the house, even near radiators and stoves, so that the heat releases all the aroma.
Taking advantage of the aesthetics of this home perfumer, we can use the slices to create garlands to hang on doors. Even arrangements with dried flowers, to place on tables and shelves, are decorative and fragrant.
A good idea is to make a centerpiece, using a simple transparent glass vase. We put the orange slices inside, perhaps together with other winter fruits such as chestnuts and walnuts.