Step three of making your own wreath - dry whole limes for decorating the wreath. The best part is the dehydrated citrus will be reuseable for years.
This is the first year I've dried entire citrus fruits. They don't quite have the sparkling beauty of dried orange slices but they're perfect for adding another colour and element to a wreath.
OR if you aren't making a wreath you can use dried limes in a garland or as ornaments on your Christmas tree.
I'm making this wreath the exact same way you are. One easy to accomplish step at a time.
Making a Wreath - Task 3
Drying whole citrus fruit takes a while. A couple of days in fact. It's the small step that takes the longest, but it's also the step that requires the least amount of YOUR time. All you have to do is prepare the limes.
In order for them to dry there has to be a way for the moisture, which is inside the fruit, to escape.
Enter the slits.
Drying Limes
Limes won't stay bright green after drying so prepare yourself for that let down. They dry to a sort of golden green/brown colour.
Step 3- Drying Limes
Cut 4-6 slits through the skin of your lime from one end to the other.
Use a knife for precise, clean cuts or a citrus scorer for safety and ease.
Weigh each fruit and record it.
Dry in an oven at the lowest temp or in a dehydrator at 135 F. until fruit weighs about ¼ of its original weight.
For the next small step you'll need floral paddle wire (US) floral paddle wire (CA)
Canon and Variation by Twin Musicom licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.
If you followed Step 2 of making a wreath you already have your limes and can dry them over the next couple of days. Your next step will come soon.
TIPS
- If you have an unsteady hand you can mark your cut lines on the lime with marker first.
- Pay attention to where all of your cuts start and stop. Each line should start & end the exact same distance from the ends of the lime if you want things to look extra professional.
- When they're fully dry they'll feel almost airy.
That's your homework. Dry limes. I'll post again soon and you'll get your next small step which is the FUN step - putting your wreath together.
Interesting. A lot like pomamder balls, but they take months. I tried it once, I don't have the instructions in front of me, so don't take my word for it. For pomanders, you take your citrus of choice, poke it all over, in patterns if you want, then stick while cloves in the pin holes. Cover it in ground cinnamon and place in a paper bag or small box, do not seal it, it needs air flow. Put it in a dark airy area. (Yeah... right. No idea.) For the first two weeks, or something, you have to add more cinnamon every day and GENTLY toss /roll it around in it, then put it away. Eventually, it will dry, the moisture being drawn out through the cloves. The cloves and cinnamon keep it from molding. Our house is very humid and mine did not mold (whew!). I still have it somewhere. I like the Key limes cause they already smell like cloves. Which is weird. 🤔😜
Once dry you can tie them up with ribbons or whatnot. I might do that this year, see if I can sneak it on the tree. 😉 Mom wouldn't let me put the orange slices on it.
Happy holidays, Karen. Totally off subject, but I have to tell you about this article from People magazine. If you have not seen Nubz, the chicken who lost his toes to some mites, you have to find him. He has dozens of pairs of shoes that help him walk, and of course protect his feet. Cuteness overload for me. He has his own website and thousands of followers. I tell you this because my daughter always starts conversations about your latest doings by saying, " you know the chicken lady?"
LOL! I am known far and wide as the chicken lady. I'll go look up poor little Nubz. ~ karen!
That's funny because I say something similar to my hubby "You know, Karen, from Canada, with the chickens? She raises monarchs. She's the reason why I am saving bones to make a wreath?"
LOLOL! ~ karen
About how many days did it take you to dry the limes and did any mold?
I like the color of the dried it seems to fit the color scheme for Fall and Winter. That bright, light fresh lime color says Summer to me and drinks :-)
Thanks
They took 48 hours in the dehydrator at 135F. No mold. Once you remove them from the dehydrator they continue to dry. I cut one open and it was crunchy. ~ karen!
Another blogger I follow (Miss Mustard Seed)tried that very same trick. She gave up after 2-3 days of the limes being in the oven and tossed them in the trash. I do have a dehydrator (bought it 5 years ago and have never taken it out of the box) that I am going to attempt to dry the limes with instead of the oven. Wish me luck! Congrats on your success with drying the limes!!!
Did Miss. Mustard Seed score her limes? If not, there's nowhere for the moisture to escape. Other than that I have no idea what might have happened. ~ karen!
Just when I thought I knew about most all kitchen gadgets...... along comes the citrus scorer. And Jeff Bezos simply smiles at me.......again.
I might sub some other natural materials instead of the limes. I can think of a few options, like naturally dried teasel heads from a nearby patch. Or wire in pine cones...
The limes look nice but at the price of them at the store yesterday, I chose to leave them there.
Plus - I’d rather put limes in a gin and tonic.😉
I am going with a mojito myself!!
HA!
I got pinecones as well, but ended up using the limes. I'm still in the process of making my second wreath so I'll use the cones on that one. The one good thing about the limes is they'll last forever if you dehydrate them properly. ~ karen!
My G&Ts definitely don’t last forever.😘