We live in the south, so we have lots of citrus! My sour lemon/orange tree is dropping oranges everyday. I wanted to share how I dehydrate and store some of the citrus we have.
Lemons on left and oranges on right.
Lemons on left and oranges on right.
These photos start after they have been washed, cut and dehydrated. Dry them until you can snap in half or drop on counter and hear a hard tap.
Here is a lovely pic of the mess in my kitchen. The simplest and easiest thing to do ever is make a pitcher of lemonade! You simply put the dried lemons in a pitcher and fill with water and sweeten if you want. Let it stand for a couple of hours in our out of the refrigerator and viola you have yummy real lemonade. I suppose you could also do crafts with these beauties. But, us not so much. Teas, frosting, muffins....possibilities are endless!
I like to grind up my lemons and sour oranges into a powder to use in a variety of things.
After it is dried to a brittle stage (snaps when broken in pieces) I place some into a canning jar, screw on my blender blade and zip it away!
See.... I do sour oranges and lemons this way!
There are a variety of things we use this ground rind for. Lemon bars, really anything you need lemon rind for. It is super easy and great to have on hand.
Store these in vacuum sealed bags or in canning jars.
If stored the correct way these can actually last almost forever.... 10-15 years easy. Mostly I store the powder in canning jars and the bulk of the dried orange rounds in vacuum seal bags.
Experimenting with home dehydrated foods is super fun.
If stored the correct way these can actually last almost forever.... 10-15 years easy. Mostly I store the powder in canning jars and the bulk of the dried orange rounds in vacuum seal bags.Experimenting with home dehydrated foods is super fun.
What would you do with dehydrated lemons, oranges and their powders?
Just sharing and asking~Melissa
Love the idea Melissa, as usual your creative side and passion for trying ANYTHING shines through....Oh and I definitely want your grinder..I love the fact that you can put your jars on it...
ReplyDeleteIf I had that citrus powder I would be making drinks too...but also added to sugar...or a homemade sherbet..I think it would be handy in Asian cooking too.
I couldn't help myself though, I'd have to remove the seeds...lol
More about the grinder please! That would be a VERY useful gadget! Thanks for posting this, great information...as always.
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I would never of thought to dry the skins like this. I also think that your grinder is awesome, but wonder how we could do the job by hand.
ReplyDeleteWhen we get alot of citrus we peel the skin off using a potato peeler, place in jars and cover with vinegar. This is left for a few weeks then it is diluted down and used as a household cleaner. Has a nice smell.
Oh Bec, what a wonderful idea to make household cleaner. Am off out to the backyard now to pick some lemons and oranges to put your idea into practice.
DeleteThis is brilliant! I've read your posts for a while now and this one is a fantastic idea! Can I ask how you dehydrate? Would a low oven do the trick? Also, do you grind the seeds in them? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou guys crack me up! That is just a simple blender with a canning jar screwed on. I have also used a coffee grinder. Simple soultion.
ReplyDeleteBlondee-Thanks for speaking up! I love dehydrating and have 17 post on it in my side bar. I have a ton of ideas and fun dehydrating.
Bec- There is a ton you can do with dehydrated citrus.
Nellymary- You are always so complimentry. Seeds no seeds I understand!
Hoss boss- Thanks for the question. I think I answered it for you. If not let me know I will send you pictures.
Thanks ya'll this is fun!
Melissa
I didn't think anyone else did this! We use them to flavor beverages; teas, natural sodas. I have never thought of powdering them, but I would use them in baked goods and whipped cream garnishes. Thanks for sharing this one!
ReplyDeleteSure thing. I am thinking of doing another post, as we just finished picking our oranges yesterday.
DeleteMelissa
Genius! I gotta get me a dehydrator!
ReplyDeleteI bought mine at Walmart for only $40.00! It holds a lot of fruit. I have yet to put it to good use though!
DeleteI was glad to see this post. I dehydrated my first lemon peel after making my Christmas lemon pie. Very exciting because it was from my homegrown Meyers lemons. Now I need to try and do some the way you do.
ReplyDeleteI will take a slice of that pie. Sounds wonderful.... I have done a ton of orange rinds well, sour lemon/orange rinds anyway...Melissa
DeleteThanks for the fantastic dried lemons for lemonade idea. You blessed gal, with those fruit trees! :D
ReplyDeleteI would try the powder for some kind of orange/lemon sweet and sour/asian thing, too. I would also use it in breading for chicken and as part of a dry rub seasoning for salmon or other fish. Cool things you're, doing, lady.
ReplyDeleteAlong with lemon and orange - but not my dehydrator - last year I started making homemade orange and lemon extract. I just put lots of the peeling (no white) in a canning jar and fill with vodka or rum. Shake it up once in a while, and after about two months you have a wonderful extract to flavor cakes, cookies, icing, etc.
ReplyDeletePJ welcome to my blog, I took a good look over at yours mine and ours blog of yours. You have a wonderful sounding family....Melissa
DeleteI don't have a dehydrater but would like to try this. Would an oven work? neat idea. We went to our children's church basketball game last weekend and someone had a great big box of lemons with a sign that said help yourself. I have 10 lemons at home and was wondering what I would do with them lol. Amanda
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I am sure it would work in any oven. You will have to play with tempure, as most ovens lowest setting is 170` and when I dehydrate citrus it is only at 120` Big difference. I would reccoment doing some searches on the internet for dehydrating in your oven. Thanks for the comment. BTY, I am planning on doing another post soon about citirus as I am in the middle of canning and dehydrating more of it now...Melissa
DeleteA fun thing that I have done with dried orange peels that I save after my kids eat oranges, is to scatter them on the floor before vacuuming, and then vac them up. They make the house smell SO nice!
ReplyDeleteGwen, So you make a mess to clean up???? tee hee. Thanks for the idea...Melissa
DeleteBut where is the "how" of the "How and why I dehydrate citrus"?
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas, do you dehydrate them in a commercial dehydrator or a solar one?
ReplyDeleteGreat idea!! Looking forward to reading more... :)
ReplyDeleteI got a case of tangerines from the local band boosters and I've made as much Tangerine Marmalade and Tangerine Curd as I can possibly use and I still have a couple dozen. From reading your blog and the comments here, I think I'm going to dehydrate the rest! I had a dehydrator years ago...probably in storage somewhere since our last move. So, I just ordered s Nesco 400 watt model. It should be here in another day or two. I like the idea making cleaner and extract. Maybe I could use the powder on jerky along with teriyaki? Also wondering about something like limoncello? Anyway, I enjoyed your ideas and those of your readers. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMatt- My main orange tree is a lemoncello. I mainly juice them and them dry the rinds. They are super fragrant. I will say I just made a key lime pie with some dehydrated lemoncello rind in it and it was terrible. Note to self was.... rehydrate the rind first. Meat marinades are great with it but it is a personal flavor choice. Thanks for the commets and the question.
DeleteMelissa
What do you all use to slice the fruit in consistent slices?
ReplyDeleteRon
Ron- I have a vario slicer and a meat slicer. I believe I used my vario slicer. You can purchase a cheap one at Wal-Mart in the kitchen gadgets section. Great question.
DeleteMelissa
thank you so much
DeleteSorry, another question. Do oranges/lemons slice? Are the insides firm enough that they don't smoosh when trying to slice them?
DeleteI used my digital electric smoker to dehydrate. I cleaned it real well with citrus infused vinegar that I made last year when my wife was pregnant (didn't want her to have to be exposed to harsh chemicals)and then laid the sliced oranges and lemons from my tree on the wire racks. I set the smoker to the lowest setting (170') and removed all water trays and opened the vent fully. This allows the moisture to escape. After 16 - 18 hours, the citrus was dry. I did use some orange halves that I juiced and peeled the inside out of. They dried much quicker. The only difference in mine were the color. They had more of a brown cooked look than the beautiful orange color yours had. Thank you. I will use these for dry rubs on my bbq, and I made some seasonings for all kinds of meats. Will make great gifts too.
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