Fruit Leather

Fruit leather is one of the best thing to carry with yourself while going for an outing. Fruit leather is prepared from fresh fruit by drying the juices and concentrating the sugar content in them. This way you can preserve them for longer duration without getting damaged. Fruit leather is much liked by children and adults owing to the natural taste it has. The nutritional content of the fruits are preserved and thus it's completely healthy for your body.

Preparing Fruit Leather at Home

So how do you prepare a homemade fruit leather? People who make it regularly say that, making a fruit leather in a microwave is much easier than making it in a dehydrator. You can prepare it from any types of fruits, although pulpy fruits are preferred more. The most common fruits used for this purpose are mangoes, peach, apricots, avocado, pineapples, plum etc. The steps written below will explain to you the process of making fruit leather.

• Get your favorite fruits from the market and wash them. You can also mix more than one variety for making the leather. Wash the fruits and let it dry for some time.
• Place the fruits inside the blender and make a puree. Make sure you do not juice it out. The consistency of the puree can be adjusted by adding applesauce or by adding some extra mashed pulp.
• Add extra sugar or honey if required. You can modify the taste by combining nutmeg powder, cardamom or cinnamon powder. Add a little lemon juice to preserve the taste and quality of the leather.
• Now spread the puree over plastic sheets for keeping it inside a fruit leather oven or a fruit leather dehydrator for the purpose of drying. Make sure you have spread the puree uniformly or else the leather formed won't be of uniform thickness.
• Adjust the temperature of the oven to 140 °C and check at intervals with a thermometer. If you have placed inside a oven then the fruit leather will be formed after 18 hours and a dehydrator will take 7 to 8 hours for forming the leather. Check if it has dried completely before peeling it off from the sheet.
• Take the plastic sheets out from the oven and detach the leather from it. You can fold and cut the leather in any shape. Wrap the pieces of fruit leather with aluminum foils and then store it inside the refrigerator for future use.

Dehydrator trays are available in the market for spreading the purees. Do not pour a very thick puree because it will take longer time to get dried. The thickness should range between 1/8th - 1/4th inch. The time taken for drying the rolls will depend upon the consistency and water content of the puree. A parchment paper is a good substitute for cookie sheets and rolls can be slipped off easily from it. Make sure you air dry the fruit leather after taking it out from a dehydrator. The consistency is best achieved by using frozen and freshly thawed fruits. Peach fruit leather is a wonderful recipe during summer season, while leathers made from cherries and strawberries serve as wonderful desserts during spring seasons.

Try the process of making fruit leather at home for your kids and family. Pack them in dry bottles, boxes or containers so that they are not spoiled by absorbing moisture. You will often find children carrying boxes filled with fruit leathers while going on summer camps and other activities. Fruit leathers are also eaten along with sandwiches and cookies. I'm sure you have loved the idea of making fruit leather at home.