Fruit Leather Recipes
How to Make Fruit Leather
Leaning to make fruit leather snacks for your family, is a tasty and nutritious way to preserve your garden bounty, and enjoy it year round.
Kids love fruit leather snacks - and by making your own, you know EXACTLY what ingredients were used. Enlist the whole family's help in not only picking out the recipes or combinations, but also in making the fruit leather. This helps keep it popular with the kids. Plus, they'll get the extra bonus of being able to proudly boast to their snack-time friends about their role in making the healthy and tasty fruit leather snack!
Remember, dehydrating (or drying) fruit, whether from your garden or from the produce market, for use in the off-season, is actually one of the healthiest ways of preserving your crop. The nutritional content retained in the dehydrating process far surpasses that of the canned equivalent. Additionally, the drying process is often more cost-effective than freezing, as you don't use electricity in the long-term storage of your items.
Check out other dehydrating ideas:
- instructions for dehydrating (drying) fruit
- instructions for dehydrating (drying) vegetables
Note: You may want to make sure that you like the end-product, or that you have recipes that your family will eat using the end-product, before going all-out.
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Basic Instructions - How to Make Fruit Leather
(fruit leather recipe ideas to follow)
For the best quality home-made fruit leather, select fruit that has reached a peak in color, texture, flavor. It should be ripe, but not overly ripe.
Wash the fruit, remove stems, pits, etc. Peel. Remove any bruised areas.
Puree the fruit in your blender or fruit processor until smooth and liquid (should be easy to pour). Taste the puree and season/sweeten as you wish. It's better to slightly under-season as the flavors will intensify (concentrate) as they dehydrate.
If the fruit leather puree needs sweetening, add sweetener 1 tbsp at a time, and reblend, tasting until it is at the desired taste. For sweetener use your choice of: honey, corn syrup, or concentrated fruit juice.
NOTE: It's best to avoid sugar. Besides being the least healthy alternative for this snack, it also tends to change the texture of the finished fruit leather to being more granular.
Spread the fruit leather puree out on plastic (solid) dehydrator trays. If you don't have solid trays or liners for the trays, you can line your trays with plastic wrap. (To avoid your leather sticking to the tray or the wrap, coat with just a little vegetable oil.) It's best to not use wax paper or foil to line the trays.
When spreading the puree on the liner, allow about an inch of space between the mixture and both the inside & outside edge. (The fruit leather mixture will spread out as it dries, so it needs a little room to allow for this expansion.). Spread mixture to 1/4" thick.
Dry (dehydrate) the fruit leather at 100 degrees (F) for about 16 (+/-) hours. Finished consistency should be pliable and easy to roll.
NOTE: it is best not to dry your home made fruit leather at a temperature over 100 degrees (F) as it destroys the beneficial enzymes in the fruit, as well as much of the nutritional content.
Storage: to store the finished fruit leather, remove from the dehydrator while still warm. Roll them up and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in an air-tight container, and store in a dry, dark place. (Light will cause the fruit leather to discolor.)
You may also find some other creative ways of serving your home made fruit leather. For example: try rolling it up around a filling (such as peanut butter or cream cheese).
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Combination / Recipe Ideas for Making Your Own Fruit Leather
(Please share your favorite fruit-leather recipe combinations! info@howtogardenadvice.com)
Apple Raisin Fruit Leather Recipe:
6 cups chopped apples, 1/2 cup chopped raisins, (optional, season with cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg)
Apple Rhubarb Fruit Leather Recipe:
5 cups chopped apples, 1 cup cooked rhubarb
Apple Raspberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped apples, 3 cups raspberries
Apple Blueberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped apples, 3 cups blueberries, (optional, season with cinnamon)
Apple Cranberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped apples, 3 cups cranberries
Apricot Plum Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped apricots, 3 cups chopped plums
Banana Strawberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups mashed bananas, 2 cups strawberries
Banana Raspberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups mashed bananas, 2 cups raspberries
Banana Cherry Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups mashed bananas, 2 cups cherries (pits removed)
Banana Pineapple Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups mashed bananas, 2 cups chopped pineapple, (optional, sprinkle with a little dried coconut)
Banana Peanut Butter Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups mashed bananas, 2 cups peanut butter
Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit Leather Recipe:
4 cups chopped strawberries, 2 cups chopped cooked rhubarb
Peach Pear Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped pears, 3 cups chopped peaches, (optional: cinnamon, or other spices)
Peach Blackberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped peaches, 3 cups blackberries, (optional: season with cinnamon)
Pear Cranberry Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped pears, 3 cups cranberries, (optional: season with cinnamon, ginger)
Pumpkin Apple Fruit Leather Recipe:
3 cups chopped apple, 3 cups cooked pumpkin puree, (optional: season with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves)
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Common Problems & Solutions when Making Fruit Leather
Problem: The puree for the fruit leather is too thick (won't pour easily).
Solution: Add fruit juice or water, a little at a time until the right consistency. Also, you can add other fruits that are higher in water content.
Problem: The puree for the fruit leather is too thin (too runny).
Solution: mix with fruit that have a lower water content (make a thicker puree), or cook a little to reduce the water. Note: cooking it will destroy much of the nutritional content for your fruit leather and it also changes the flavor.
Problem: The fruit leather doesn't dry evenly
Solution: The puree wasn't spread evenly on your drying tray. When spreading the puree mixture, try tilting and shaking the tray to help it distribute more evenly. Also, it is a good idea to rotate your trays throughout the drying period.
Problem: The fruit leather is discolored
Solution: Many fruits will discolor as they dry. It doesn't affect taste, only the appearance of your fruit leather. To make fruit leather that doesn't discolor, you'll need to add a little ascorbic acid solution to the puree.
Tips From Our Readers:
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Note: the advice and information contained herein is based upon our experience and study. As with any advice, please apply at your own discretion.