Fruit Leathers Recipes

HOW TO MAKE FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Clean and prep the fruit: Rinse the fruit. If you're working with stone fruit, take out the pits. Chop the fruit. If you're working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. If working with grapes, de-stem them. Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet (ripe Concord grapes, for example) you won't need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.
• Boil the fruit with water, then mash: Place the fruit in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan.
• Season with sugar and spices, if desired: Taste the fruit and determine how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. If needed, add the sugar in small amounts (1 tablespoon at a time), to your desired level of sweetness. Add lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to augment the flavor, if you'd like. Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, another 5 or 10 (or more) minutes.
• Purée the cooked fruit: Put the mashed fruit through a food mill or chinoise. Alternatively, purée the fruit thoroughly in a blender or food processor. The purée should be very smooth. Taste again and adjust the sugar/lemon/spices, if necessary.

FRUIT LEATHER ROLL-UPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add the lemon juice to taste (use 2 tablespoons for apples or bananas) and puree until smooth.
• Transfer the pureed fruit to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally at first and then more often toward the end, until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture is very thick, 35 to 45 minutes. Be careful: The mixture may splatter.
• Line a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or nonstick foil. Use an offset spatula to spread the fruit on the mat or foil into a thin layer. Bake until barely tacky, 3 hours to 3 hours, 30 minutes.
• Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the fruit leather cool completely. Peel off of the mat or foil. If the leather is still moist on the underside, return it to the oven, moist-side up, until dry, about 20 more minutes. Lay the leather smooth-side down on a sheet of wax paper and use kitchen shears to cut it into strips on the paper. Roll up the strips and store in zip-top bags for up to 1 week.
• Plum: 5 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Peach or nectarine: 5 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Apple: 3 large (Gala or Granny Smith), peeled and chopped
• Strawberry: 4 cups, hulled and chopped
• Raspberry: 5 cups
• Grape: 3 1/2 cups (preferably Concord), seeded if necessary
• Banana: 5 medium, peeled
• Mango: 2 large, peeled and chopped
• Raspberry-Vanilla: 5 cups raspberries plus the seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• Strawberry-Banana: 3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped, plus 2 medium bananas, peeled
• Apple-Ginger: 3 large apples, peeled and chopped, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger
• Spicy Mango: 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped, plus 1/8 teaspoon each salt and cayenne pepper

SEASONAL FRUIT LEATHERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 175 degrees. Puree pineapple and mango with 1 tablespoon honey or persimmons with 2 Tbsp honey in a food processor until smooth.
• Spread puree on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet in a thin, even layer about 1/8-inch thick. Tap baking sheet on the counter a few times to release air.
• Bake until set in the middle and barely tacky, 2 1/2 to 4 hours. Let cool completely, then use a pizza cutter to slice into 2-inch-wide strips. Halve each strip crosswise and roll in parchment strips of equal size.

FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with a layer of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
• In the container of a blender, combine the sugar, lemon juice, apple and pear. Cover and puree until smooth. Spread evenly on the prepared pan. Place the pan on the top rack of the oven.
• Bake for 5 to 6 hours, leaving the door to the oven partway open. Fruit is dry when the surface is no longer tacky and you can tear it like leather. Roll up on the plastic wrap and store in an airtight jar.

FRUIT LEATHERS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Then choose one of the combinations below. If making all three, use three baking sheets and mats.
• For the grape, basil and white balsamic leather: Puree the grapes, white balsamic vinegar and salt together in a blender, and fold in the mint. Pour the puree onto the prepared baking sheet and spread to form an even layer.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the grape mixture becomes very dry, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It will remain sticky but should be solid, and you should be able to pull it away from the pan.
• For the strawberry balsamic leather: Puree the strawberries, balsamic and salt together in a blender, and fold in the mint. Pour the puree onto the prepared baking sheet and spread to form an even layer.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and cook until the strawberry mixture becomes very dry, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. It will remain sticky but should be solid, and you should be able to pull it away from the pan.
• For the guava pink peppercorn leather: In a saucepot set over medium heat, add the guava paste, lemon juice and 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and whisk until loose and liquid. Fold in the pink peppercorns. Pour the puree onto the baking sheet and spread to form an even layer.
• Place in the oven and cook until the guava mixture becomes very dry, 6 to 6 1/2 hours. It will remain sticky but should be solid, and you should be able to pull it away from the pan.