Last month I found a few forgotten tangerines in my kitchen, a little wrinkled and well past their best for eating. Instead of throwing them away, I sliced them, laid them out on a tray and dried them slowly in the oven for 4 hours at 80°C.
Little slices of Christmas: dried tangerine, rosemary, star anise and a touch of gold
Today they sit on top of my Christmas candles, next to a sprig of rosemary, a star anise, a single clove and a tiny flake of gold leaf. Every slice is a little different (some darker, some curled at the edges) and I have decided that this is exactly what makes them precious.
They are not perfect, or uniform, or shop-bought, but they are real, and I felt so happy giving something small a second life. So simple!
I ask one small thing of everyone who takes a candle home: please remove the decorations before lighting it, because dried fruit and herbs can catch the flame. Please do not be disappointed, as the candle underneath is just as beautiful and the slices can find a new home in a bowl or on the tree (a third life, if anyone is counting).
I hope whoever lights one of these candles this Christmas feels a little of the care that went into it.
