Fruit Leathers Recipes

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

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.

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.

Steps:

• Tip the strawberries and apple into a saucepan. Put the pan over a low heat, you don't need to add any water. If you've used frozen fruit, juice will run out as they thaw. Heat gently, keeping an eye on the pan until the strawberries start to break down, you can put a lid on the pan if you like, this keeps the steam in and helps the fruit break down. Cook until the strawberries have softened and given up their juice and the apple is soft.
• Take the pan off the heat. Purée the contents with a stick blender or in a food processor. Squeeze the purée through a sieve into a clean pan, pushing as much pulp through as possible.
• Put the pan back on a low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the purée thickens enough to leave a clear patch on the base of the pan when you pull a spoon through it. The more moisture you drive off now, the shorter your drying time will be.
• Heat the oven to as low as it will go. Pour the purée onto a lined baking sheet (we use a reusable silicone tray liner) and spread it out to a thin layer, the purée should be thick enough to look opaque.
• Put the tray in the oven and dry until the surface is no longer tacky when you touch it, but the leather is still flexible - don't overcook it or it will turn brittle. This will take several hours depending on the oven temperature. If it is very hot and sunny you can air-dry the leather, or use a dehydrator.
• Leave the leather to cool to warm and then peel it carefully off the tray. Trim off the raggedy edges. Roll the leather up, then cut the roll into sections, using scissors is easiest. Each of these will unroll to make a strip. Keep the strips individually wrapped and airtight. The offcuts can be chopped up and used in baking, or snacked on.