Apple-Spice Potpourri
Ingredients:
– hard fragrant apples, pears and strawberries, sliced paper thin
– cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, vanilla beans
– a cup of crab apples
– dried mint and basil
– infused mint oil
Dip the apple, pear and strawberry slices in a bowl of salted lemon water for 15 minutes, so that they do not oxidize and fall apart when dried. After 15 minutes, strain them, pat them dry and place them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 150-170 degrees, until the peel starts curling up and the consistency is dry and leathery. Keep the oven door slightly ajar to ensure good air circulation.
I kept the crab apples in the oven the same time until they shrunk and became hard and completely dry.
Mix the fruit with crushed cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, cut up vanilla beans, and dry herbs. Ad a few drops of infused oil, to keep the aroma longer.
Place in a bowl and rustle occasionally to release the scent.