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I Had No Idea I Had $1,000 Sitting in the Pantry!
OK, perhaps it's not quite $1,000 sitting on the pantry shelf, but it's close to $100 - of dehydrated orange slices.
Remember back to last summer when I talked about dehydrating orange slices? How it was something I do automatically around Christmastime when the oranges are starting to overwhelm us and they're super cheap at the greengrocer?
I have never really thought about how much it would cost to buy them, I actually never really gave a thought to the possibility of buying them until about a month ago, when I saw a box of dehydrated orange slices in the deli and was gob smacked at the price.
Sure it was a nice enough presentation box, with a clear window so you could see the orange slices, but it wasn't made of gold. For the price you'd think it was.
It was a 50 gram box and was selling for $8.10 - or a whopping $162 per kilo! And yes, you read that right - $162 per kilo!
So that had me on a hunt. Coles have their own brand of dried blood orange slices, again in a 50 gram box for slightly less, they're just $110 per kilo, or $5.50 per box.
Woolworths sell I Am Thirsty dehydrated orange slices in a 125 gram jar for $24 or $192 per kilo.
So when I say I have around $1,000 sitting on the pantry shelf, that is an exaggeration. The container currently has 234 grams of orange slices in it. They are the last, we love them and nibble on them all the time.
I did have grand plans to keep some aside and dip them in chocolate for Christmas but well, we snack on them and during the year we've eaten them.
Oranges (and lemons) are easy to dehydrate.
Wash them well, then slice them very thinly.
I use the mandolin to slice them so they're about 3mm thick. If you don't have a mandolin, use very sharp knife and cut them as thin as you possible.
Then lay them on your dehydrator trays and let them run at around 130F until they are nice and crisp.
How long will this take? That depends on the moisture in the fruit so after six hours start checking them. You want them to be crisp!
When they're done, let them cool on the trays, then pack them in air tight containers. Keep them in a dark cupboard and when you feel the urge, snack on a couple of slices. Or put them in a tea cup and cover with boiling water to make citrus tea. Or dip them in melted chocolate for a snack or to decorate a cake.
And pat yourself on the back because you haven't paid $162 for them!
And in case you missed it, the point of this story is that often we are more than capable of doing things for ourselves, MOOing in Cheapskates-speak, and by doing so we live extravagant lifestyles of plenty on a very frugal budget.
Just because we live the Cheapskates way, doesn't mean we are poor!
Remember back to last summer when I talked about dehydrating orange slices? How it was something I do automatically around Christmastime when the oranges are starting to overwhelm us and they're super cheap at the greengrocer?
I have never really thought about how much it would cost to buy them, I actually never really gave a thought to the possibility of buying them until about a month ago, when I saw a box of dehydrated orange slices in the deli and was gob smacked at the price.
Sure it was a nice enough presentation box, with a clear window so you could see the orange slices, but it wasn't made of gold. For the price you'd think it was.
It was a 50 gram box and was selling for $8.10 - or a whopping $162 per kilo! And yes, you read that right - $162 per kilo!
So that had me on a hunt. Coles have their own brand of dried blood orange slices, again in a 50 gram box for slightly less, they're just $110 per kilo, or $5.50 per box.
Woolworths sell I Am Thirsty dehydrated orange slices in a 125 gram jar for $24 or $192 per kilo.
So when I say I have around $1,000 sitting on the pantry shelf, that is an exaggeration. The container currently has 234 grams of orange slices in it. They are the last, we love them and nibble on them all the time.
I did have grand plans to keep some aside and dip them in chocolate for Christmas but well, we snack on them and during the year we've eaten them.
Oranges (and lemons) are easy to dehydrate.
Wash them well, then slice them very thinly.
I use the mandolin to slice them so they're about 3mm thick. If you don't have a mandolin, use very sharp knife and cut them as thin as you possible.
Then lay them on your dehydrator trays and let them run at around 130F until they are nice and crisp.
How long will this take? That depends on the moisture in the fruit so after six hours start checking them. You want them to be crisp!
When they're done, let them cool on the trays, then pack them in air tight containers. Keep them in a dark cupboard and when you feel the urge, snack on a couple of slices. Or put them in a tea cup and cover with boiling water to make citrus tea. Or dip them in melted chocolate for a snack or to decorate a cake.
And pat yourself on the back because you haven't paid $162 for them!
And in case you missed it, the point of this story is that often we are more than capable of doing things for ourselves, MOOing in Cheapskates-speak, and by doing so we live extravagant lifestyles of plenty on a very frugal budget.
Just because we live the Cheapskates way, doesn't mean we are poor!