If you’re anything like us, you love to see a cocktail finished with a great garnish. There’s something about upping your garnish game at home which really adds a whole other level to your home bartending. That perfect lime wheel or citrus twist sitting pretty on the side of that cocktail glass is the perfect way to bring the bar home with you. But let’s be honest most people don’t have an endless stream of citrus on hand at home or worse, you buy an orange for that Friday Old Fashioned only to throw the rest away when it’s looking sad in a few days. Being smack bang in the middle of citrus season means it is the perfect time to try out making your own dehydrated citrus garnishes.

By dehydrating your own citrus you can cut down on food waste and have a great looking garnish on hand whenever you need it.

You don’t even need a fancy food dehydrator – your oven will work just fine! These impressive citrus wheels are great in tea or as part of a dessert too.
Approx 2-8 hours*

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Ingredients
Citrus Fruit
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Method
Preheat your oven to a low temperature (our oven doesn’t go below 60 and this works fine). Slice your citrus into wheels. Try to make your cuts as even as possible as this will effect the length of time it takes. Arrange your citrus wheels on to a baking tray lined with baking paper or a wire rack and place in the oven. Rotate your baking tray roughly every two hours to keep the dehydration process even and minimise your wheels curling. Remove from the oven when your citrus is dry to the touch. When cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight mason jar.
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Try these delicious recipes to show off your new citrus wheels.
Classic Daiquiri Recipe, Margarita Recipe, Old Fashioned Recipe

*The time that it takes different citrus to dehydrate will entirely depend on which fruit you are working with. Oranges may take as much as eight hours whilst limes will take as little as two or three hours.