Recipe Collection: Fruit Leather

Written by Kate Tietje

Summer is the best time of year!  The summer’s bounty is usually overflowing.  The summer goodies are still pouring out of gardens — peaches, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, etc. — yet the fall goodies are also beginning to come (pears, apples, grapes, potatoes, garlic).  It’s just a wonderful time of year for fresh foods.

It’s also a time for working hard — to preserve that harvest to enjoy all year long!  I always do massive tomato canning (diced tomato, tomato sauce, etc.) and fruit leather!  We love peaches, but mostly to eat fresh or toss into smoothies.  Canned peaches haven’t been that popular for us in the last couple of years.  But the fruit leather…the kids love it!

A small strip of real fruit leather at a health food store will run $0.50 – $0.75!  That’s not cheap for that little snack.  I made 104 roughly 4×6 sheets of fruit leather for just $12.  That is really cheap and awesome!

Luckily, fruit leather is also super simple.  You can really use any fruit you want, but if you choose a less-sweet variety (berries, peaches), pair it with a sweeter variety (apples, pears, bananas) to naturally increase the sweetness and improve the flavor.  I chose peaches and pears for mine, although I’ve also done peaches and apples.  I choose whatever I can find at the farmer’s market that is “seconds” and cheap.

Also, a friend gave me a tip to coat apple peels in cinnamon and dehydrate those as well, like ‘apple chips.’  Thanks, Michelle!  My kids loved those; something that would have been trash is now a snack.

Fruit Leather

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs. peaches (or strawberries, blueberries, etc.)
• 1 lb. pears (or apples)

OR

• 5 lbs. of apples, pears, or other sweeter fruit

Directions:

Step 1: Slice your peaches (or other fruit).  Place fruit into a large pot.

Step 2: Add water to the bottom — just a small amount, 1/4 c. or so.  Then, put the pot on the stove, put a lid on it, and let it steam on low for 30 minutes or so.

Step 3: When the fruit is soft, scoop it out into a blender.

Step 4: You will have liquid left in the bottom.  I strained it, heated it up separately, mixed it with gelatin, and made Jell-O.  You can drink it, use it to sweeten smoothies or baked goods, or eliminate it.  Whatever you want.

Step 5: Puree the fruit.

Step 6: If it is pretty thick, like applesauce, you can pour it straight onto parchment paper on dehydrator trays or baking sheets (use the parchment paper!).  If it’s thinner, pour it back into the pot.

Step 7: Simmer on low until it’s thick enough.  I’ve done it with and without this step and it always worked.  You don’t want it too thin, though.

Step 8: Pour onto dehydrator sheets, about 1.5 – 2 cups per large tray.  You want a nice layer, but not too thick.

Step 9: Put into the dehydrator on 120ºF or an oven on low (170).  It takes a good 12 – 15 hours in a dehydrator; an oven would only take 2 – 3, so watch carefully.

Step 10: Pull it out, and you’re done!  Fruit leather.  I cut mine into about 9 – 10 pieces per large sheet and stored them in a bag.

What’s your favorite way to preserve fruit?