| Title: | Fruit Leather |
| Category: | Dessert - Clean (Only natural/organic ingredients), Vegetarian |
| From: | Other |
| Ingredients: |
2 cups fruit
2 t lemon juice or 1/8 t ascorbic acid
1/4 to 1/2 c honey
|
| Directions: | 1) Select ripe or slightly overripe fruit. 2) Wash fresh fruit or berries in cool water. Remove peel, seeds, stems and bruised or spoiled portions. 3) Cut fruit into chunks. Use two cups of fruit for each 13x15-inch fruit leather. Puree fruit until smooth. If thick, add liquid to bring to a pouring consistency. 4) Add lemon juice or ascorbin acid to prevent darkening. 5) Optional: to sweeten, add corn syrup, honey or sugar. Corn syrup or honey is best for longer storage because it prevents crystal formation. Sugar is fine for immediate use or short storage. Saccharin-based sweeteners could also be used to reduce tartness without adding calories. Aspartame sweeteners may lose sweetness during drying. -------------------------------------------------- Excellent fruits: apples, apricots, berries with seeds, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapples, strawberries Only in combination: bananas, blueberries, citrus fruits, crabapples, cranberries, grapes, guavas, plums -------------------------------------------------- Canned or frozen fruit: 1) Home preserved or store-bought canned or frozen fruit can be used. Applesauce can be dried alone or added to any fresh fruit puree as an extender. It decreases tartness and makes the leather smoother and more pliable. 2) Drain fruit, save liquid. 3) Use one pint of fruit for each 13x15-inch leather. 4) Puree fruit until smooth. If thick, add liquid to bring to a pouring consistency. 5) Add lemon juice or ascorbic acid for each two cups of light colored fruit to prevent darkening. -------------------------------------------------- Spices: allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mace, mint, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice- start with 1/8 t for each 2 cups of puree. Flavorings: almond extract, lemon juice, lemon peel, lime juice, lime peel, orange extract, orange juice, orange peel, vanilla extract- try 1/8 t ro 1/4 t for each 2 cups of puree. -------------------------------------------------- For drying in the oven, a 13x15-inch baking pan with edges works well. Line pan with plastic wrap being careful to smooth out wrinkles. Do not use waxed paper or aluminum foil. To dry in a dehydrator, specially designed plastic sheets can be purchased or plastic trays can be lined with plastic wrap. -------------------------------------------------- Fruit leathers can be poured into a single large sheet or into several smaller sizes. Spread puree evenly, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick, onto drying tray. Avoid pouring puree too close to the edge of the sheet; leave an inch or more of border to allow for spreding during drying. The larger fruit leathers take longer to dry. Test for dryness by touching the center of the leather; no indentation or sticky spots should be evident. While warm, peel from plastic and roll, allow to cool and rewrap the roll in plastic wrap or special plastic fruit leather sheets. It takes approx. 6 to 8 hours for fruit leather to dry in a dehydrator. Follow manufacturer's directions. In general, it should be dried at around 140F. It takes approx. 18 hours for fruit leather to dry in the oven. Check temperature to make sure the oven goes as low as 140F- any hotter will cook the leather. Place wrapped pieces in airtight, moisture proof containers such as freezer bags, glass jars or freezer storage containers. Fruit leather will keep about 2 to 4 weeks at room temperature when stored in a dark, cool place. For storage up to one year, store in the freezer. |
| Makes: |