On my trip to Ikea the other day I found some really cute plump, Kilner style glass jars so obviously I have had to make some more potpourri to put in them and I thought this quite a good time to show you how to make fruity potpourri yourself!!
1. Choose your fruits, I like lemons, limes, oranges (they smell great), grapefruit, pears and apples.
2. Slice your fruit as thin as is possible, without including chunks of your fingers!!
3. Place your fruit on a wire rack on baking tray, try not to let the pieces over lay, as this will increase drying time.
4. Put your fruits into your preheated oven, which should be on the lowest setting possible. Remember you just want to dry the water out of the fruit not cook it.
5. Keep turning the fruits every hour or so, they could take up to 4 hours to dry out all together, depending on how thickly you sliced your fruit. It's just something you have to judge as you go along. Don't be tempted to turn up the heat, doing so will just burn your fruits.
6. Once your Fruits are all dry, that them out of the oven and leave them out on the side over night, just to get rid of any residual moisture.
7. The next morning you can bottle your homemade potpourri. Remember at this point you can add any extra herbs, spices, essence etc, I like to use bay leaves and cinnamon. By using an airtight jar to bottle your potpourri, you will prolong its life, but saying that it should still be discarded after 3 months, as it is a natural product made with no additive or preservatives and may still run the risk of decaying like normal fruits do.
Top Tip - Tie some pretty string around your jars to add a bit of life and personality!!
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