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The tradition of drying fruits and flowers goes back to time immemorial. The Egyptians created dried fruit and flower compositions and handed them over as presents to triumphant returning soldiers. Drying methods were later perfected with the aim of using the plants and herbs for medicinal purposes or simply as a means to perfume different rooms.

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Currently the main use of dried flower and fruit compositions are as decorative objects. To achieve this, there are several ways of preserving the plants, all of which share a series of basic norms such as picking fruits and flowers that are not marked and that are as perfect as possible, or applying the technique as soon as the fruit or flower is picked.

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The four most common drying techniques are currently the following:

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1) Air drying. This is the most popular technique, as long as the fruits or flowers are dried in low-light, well-aired and dry conditions. The best method for flowers is to cut the plants into small posies with few leaves. They are then hung upside down for a few days until the flowers are completely dry. Fruits, meanwhile, need to be left to dry in the open air, hanging from a string and prevented from getting wet. In winter, they can also be placed on top of a radiator covered in newspaper. They can later be varnished for longer preservation.

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2) Water drying. This process is similar to the above, but without the need for special conditions. You simply need to leave the flowers in a container with a little water and wait until they are completely dry.

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3) Chemical drying. This technique is used to dry flowers that cannot be air dried, such as bulb-based flowers, dahlias, tulips and pansies. The products that are most often used in these cases are silica gel, borax or fine, clean sand. The procedure is also very simple:

-�Fill up a hermetically-sealed box with a layer of silica gel, for example.
- Place the flowers on top of this layer.�
- Cover them with the desiccating agent taking care not to break them. This is ideally carried out with a brush, which can also be used to place the desiccating agent between the petals.
-�Cover the box and leave to dry in a hot, dry, low-light area for at least a week.

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4) Oven-drying. This method is particularly used to dry citric fruits. The procedure is very simple. First, the fruit is cut into fine strips, which are placed on to an oven tray. They are then oven cooked at a low temperature and frequently turned over to prevent burning. Finally, they are left to cool and aerosol varnished on both sides, leaving one side to dry before varnishing the other.

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As you can see, any of these four techniques is simplicity itself.