Making Fruit Leather

Fruit leathers are homemade fruit rolls.  They are a tasty, chewy, dried fruit product.  Fruit leathers are made by pouring pureed fruit onto a flat surface for drying. When dried, the fruit is pulled from the surface and rolled.  It gets the name “leather from the fact that when the pureed fruit is dried, it is shiny and has the texture of leather.

The advantages of making your own fruit leathers are to use less sugar and to mix fruit flavors.

Fruit leathers are a great tasting, healthy snack that can be easily made with a food dehydrator.  Homemade leathers are wholesome, 100% fruit snacks that are extremely easy and fun to make.  Store bought roll ups are over processed, over priced, imitation fruit products that include extra sugars, extra corn syrups and trans fats as ingredients. Below is a listing of the major ingredients from a well-known brand of a fruit roll up product:

• Fruit from concentrate
• Corn syrup
• Dried corn syrup
• Sugar
• Partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil

Tips for making the best home-made fruit leather:

• Select RIPE or slightly overripe fruit that has reached a peak in color, texture, and flavor.
• Prepare the fruit; wash, dry, remove stems, pits, seeds and so forth.  Remove the skins if desired and any bruised areas.
• Puree the fruit in your blender or food processor until smooth.  Taste and sweeten if needed. Keep in mind that flavors will intensify as they dehydrate.  When adding a sweetener do so 1 tbsp at a time, and reblend, tasting until it is at the desired taste.  It is best to use a liquid type sweetener such as raw honey or agave as an example.  Don’t use a granulated sugar because it tends to change the texture of the finished fruit leather.
  • Problem: The puree for the fruit leather is too thick (won’t pour easily).  Add fruit juice or water, a little at a time until you acheive 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).  Mix with fruits that have a lower water content such as banana (make a thicker puree), or add 1 Tbsp at a time of ground chia seeds.
  • Problem:  The fruit leather is discolored.   Many fruits will discolor as they dry.  It doesn’t affect taste, only the appearance.  To make fruit leather that doesn’t discolor, you can add a little lemon juice to the puree.  About 2 tsp per 2 cups of puree.
  • Spices to Try - Allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mace, mint, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice.  Use sparingly, start with 1/8 teaspoon for each two cups of puree.
  • Flavorings to Try - Almond extract, lemon juice, lemon peel, lime juice, lime peel, orange extract, orange juice, orange peel or vanilla extract.  Use sparingly, try 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon for each two cups of puree.
  • Extender – Applesauce can be dried alone or added to any fresh fruit pureé as an extender.  It decreases tartness and makes the leather smoother and more pliable.
  • Delicious Additions to Try — Shredded coconut, chopped dates, other dried chopped fruits, granola, chopped nuts, chopped raisins, poppy seeds, sesame seeds or sunflower seeds.  These can be sprinkled on top for added texture.
• Spread the fruit puree on teflex sheets that come with your dehydrator.  Pour the puree to create an even depth of 1/8 to 1/4 inch.  If you don’t have teflex sheets for the trays, you can line your trays with plastic wrap or parchment paper.  Do not use wax paper or aluminum foil.
  • Lightly coat the food dehydrator plastic sheets or wrap with a cooking spray, I use coconut oil that comes in a spray.
  • When spreading the puree on the liner, allow about an inch of space between the mixture and the outside edge.  The fruit leather mixture will spread out as it dries, so it needs a little room to allow for this expansion.
  • Be sure to spread the puree 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.  This will help assure that the leathers dry evenly.

• Dehydrate the fruit leather at 105 degrees (F) for about 16 (+/-) hours.  Finished consistency should be pliable and easy to roll.
  • Check for dark spots on top of the fruit leather.  If dark spots can be seen it is a sign that the fruit leather is not completely dry.
  • Press down on the fruit leather with a finger.  If no indentation is visible or if the fruit leather is no longer tacky to the touch, the fruit leather is dry and can be removed from the dehydrator.
  • Peel the leather from the dehydrator trays or parchment paper. If the fruit leather peels away easily and holds its shape after peeling, it is dry. If the fruit leather is still sticking or loses its shape after peeling, it needs further drying.
  • Under-dried fruit leather will not keep; it will mold.  Over-dried fruit leather will become hard and crack, although it will still be edible and will keep for a long time
• Storage: to store the finished fruit leather…
  • Allow the leather to cool before wrapping up to avoid moisture from forming, thus giving it a breeding ground for molds.
  • 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.)
  • The fruit leather will keep at room temperature for one month, or in a freezer for up to one year.

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Posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 at 7:58 pm. Filed under: Fruit Leathers, Raw Techniques RSS 2.0 feed.