Can you imagine the warm, inviting aroma of oranges and pears drying in your oven. Who knew that something so simple as dried fruit could be so festive? This easy-to-follow tutorial will guide you through drying and creating a fragrant and visually appealing dried orange and pear garland. Let me show you how this easy garland can enhance your existing Christmas decorations.
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How To Make A Simple Dried Orange and Pear Garland
I love drying fruit each Christmas. The citrus and pears fill the farmhouse with the aroma of Christmas! Plus, it’s so easy to do. Today, I’ll guide you through drying your fruit and then making a simple, budget-friendly garland. It can be displayed alone or mixed with greenery for a cozy, timeless Christmas appeal.
Supplies To Dry Fruit
You only need a few hours and some simple supplies that you most likely have on hand.
- Large Baking Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Mandoline Slicer
Optional Resources
How To Prepare Fruit For Drying
The first step in drying fruit is to slice it into thin slices. I use a mandoline slicer to ensure even slices. I set the slicer on the #3 setting, which is less than 1/4 inch each. You can use a sharp knife, being careful to cut them evenly.
How To Dry Pears and Oranges?
This year, I used two methods to dry fruit. First, I used my oven to dry the oranges and the dehydrating setting on our Ninja Air Fryer Oven to dry the pears. Both worked well and took approximately the same amount of time.
For the oven method, I lined a baking pan with parchment paper and filled it with sliced oranges. Set the oven temperature to 200-250 and place the oranges on the middle rack. Cook for two hours and then check to determine dryness. I found that three hours is what works best in my oven. However, I recommend checking after two hours and continuing to monitor closely to avoid burning.
To dehydrate in air fryer, I first used the dehydrate setting at 250 degrees. I placed the pears on the wire basket and rack. After two hours, I removed some of the pears from the top basket and redistributed the remaining slices. They cooked for another 30-45 minutes before they were dried. Again, at the two-hour mark, I recommend keeping a close eye on your oven to avoid over-drying.
Be sure to allow the fruit to cool thoroughly before using it for any craft projects. I placed mine on wire racks on the kitchen countertops with good air circulation. Don’t refrigerate or seal in containers.
Below is what my dried fruit looked like before creating the garland.
How To Assemble Dried Orange and Pear Garland
I used a very lightweight wire that can be easily bent to assemble the dried oranges and pears. Cut the wire slightly longer than you want your finished garland to be.
Begin by pushing the wire into the fruit. Pull the first pieces to the center of the wire and begin to twist each piece into place.
I have more dried orange slices than pears so I added two orange slices and then a pear. I allowed the slices to be five to six inches apart. I repeated this process until the wire was full.
Once the first side was full, I began filling the wire from the opposite end, twisting the wire at each piece so that the fruit didn’t slide around.
I put the completed garland on my banister greenery so you could see the details easily.
If I had time, I’d love to fill my railings with fruit garlands because it looks so good.
However, this garland is destined for my kitchen window. It looks just as lovely here, but it’s harder to photograph.
The dried fruit adds so much to the greenery. It works well with the DIY Old Book Page Ornaments don’t you think?
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