Excerpt from the eBook
How to make fruit leather
Blend into a puree in a blender. Mix in any spices, such as cinnamon or vanilla.
Reduce (simmer) the purée in a pan if it is very watery or if you want to speed up the drying process. Or, instead of reducing the water in a saucepan (boiling it), you can put the puree in a strainer and let it drain for an hour or two.
Spread a half-centimetre-thick layer of the puree on dehydrator sheets. Stick a toothpick in to determine the thickness. Detaching it from the dehydrator sheets will be hard if you make it too thin.
Note! The puree should be slightly thinner in the middle as it dries faster at the edges.
Dehydrate at 52°C (125°F) in a convection oven or food dehydrator. Flip the semi-dried puree halfway through to allow it to dry faster. If you use a food dehydrator, it can then be placed directly on the mesh.
Dry until tough and leathery. Carefully lift it from the sheet and cut it into long strips.
Dip each strip in nut flour, potato flour or else to prevent them from sticking together when stored, and brush off as much excess as you can.
| Temperature | 52°C (125°F) |
| Drying time for puree/fruit leather | Food dehydrator: 6-8 hours Convection oven: 10-15 hours |
| Suggestions for flavouring | Concentrated juice: apple, blackcurrant or other. |
| Cinnamon, vanilla, chilli. | |
| Topping added before drying | Sesame seeds, finely chopped nuts |
| Tasty flavour combinations | Apple-banana-cinnamon-vanilla Strawberry-Raspberry Gooseberry-blackcurrant |
Fruit leather is the world’s best candy and can be varied in many ways. You can combine fruit and berries or add other flavours, such as cinnamon and vanilla. Or why not add a handful of roasted seeds to the puree? Kids love these strips. Let them choose the flavours and combinations, and they can watch them transform from puree to delicious fruit leather in the oven.
You can experiment with different patterns and toppings you drizzle before dehydrating. You can also mix seeds directly into the puree but only use a small amount, no more than 10 percent of the total volume. You can use both frozen and fresh berries. You can also use frozen bananas or other frozen fruit.
