If you can’t tell by now, we are super excited for fall! Certainly, something you cannot forget about this time of year is the beautiful scents filling the air. We wanted to capture this magic and bring it inside our home, so we created a fall potpourri to do just that!
PHOTO: Pinterest
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fresh Fruit
- Freeze Dried Fruit
- Spice of your liking (we prefer cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme)
- A little decorative foliage (pinecone, leaves, branches, and whatever other beauties you can find in your yard this season)
PHOTO: Stone Gable
Step 1: Cut fresh fruit into thin slices
Step 2: Place fruit on wire rack
Step 3: Heat at 200 degrees for about two hours, turning the fruit slices every half hour. Crack the oven door open so moisture can escape.
Step 4: If the fruit is not completely dry after two hours, keep heating in 30-minute increments, checking to make sure that the fruit does not burn.
PHOTO: Johnathan Fong
You’ll also want to dry out some citrus rinds and fruit peels to add texture to your potpourri. To do this you simply follow the following steps:
Step 5: Peel your fruit with a sharp knife or wide vegetable peeler. Keep the rinds in long ribbons if you can; the long peels twist more dramatically as they dry out.
Step 6: Place the peels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and heat in a 200-degree oven for about two hours, turning them over every half an hour.
Step 7: If the fruit still has leaves attached, add those to the baking sheet for drying as well.
Step 8: Now you’ll want to add your freeze-dried fruit. It has zero moisture in it and adds a great pop of color. Pro -tip freeze-dried strawberries actually look like rose petals.
Step 9: Add your spices! This takes some experimentation:
- Cinnamon sticks and whole cloves work double time as botanical elements and fragrance generators.
- Herbs like rosemary and thyme, add a savory element to the sweeter smelling fruit.
- Cinnamon powder coats the entire mixture in a delicious scent.
- You can also add essential oils made from fruit extracts, like lime oil, to add to the fragrance.
PHOTO: Johnathan Fong
BONUS TIP: It is never too soon to be thinking about holiday presents, so use our imagination to put on a holiday twist on this recipe for the perfect pioneer gift!
