Recipe of the Week: Alicia’s Fruit Leather Rolls

Reader Alicia J. kindly sent us her recipe for some tasty fruit leather rolls. She included several variations for different types of fruits. Take special note of the use of lemon juice to prevent browning, for any fruit leather than includes bananas or apples.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 pounds (about 5 cups) of chopped fruit. A few of of these should be first peeled. (See below.)
• 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven or dehydrator to 200 degrees F. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add the lemon juice to taste. (To prevent browning, I recommend using 2 tablespoons with either apples or bananas. You may use much less, for other fruits.)
2. Puree until smooth.
3. Transfer the pureed fruit to a medium saucepan and over medium-high heat bring it to a simmer .
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
5. Cook it down at mediu -low, stirring occasionally at first and then more often toward the end, until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture is very thick. This may take 35 to 45 minutes. Be careful not to burn the mixture. It may also splatter.
6. 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 3.5 hours.
7. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and let the fruit leather cool completely.
8. Peel the fruit leather off of the mat or foil. If the leather is still moist on the underside, then return it to the oven or dehydrator, moist-side up, until dry, usually about 20 more minutes.
9. Lay the fruit leather smooth-side down on a sheet of waxed paper.
10. Use kitchen shears to cut it into roughly 1″-wide strips while still on the waxed paper. Roll up the strips.

Variations for Different Fruits

• Apple Leather: 3 large peeled and chopped apples. I prefer to use Gala apples. Don’t forget to use 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
• Apple-Ginger Leather: 3 large apples, peeled and chopped, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons grated ginger. Don’t forget to use 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• Banana Leather: 5 medium, peeled. Don’t forget to use 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.
• Grape Leather: 3 1/2 cups — preferably Concord grapes, seeded unless a seedless variety
• Mango Leather: 3 large, peeled and chopped mangies
• Spicy Mango Leather: 3 large mangoes, peeled and chopped, plus 1/8 teaspoon each salt and cayenne pepper
• Nectarine Leather: 6 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Peach Leather: 6 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Plum Leather: 8 medium, unpeeled, chopped
• Raspberry Leather: 5 cups
• Raspberry-Strawberry Leather: 3 cups raspberries and 2 cups strawberries
• Raspberry-Vanilla Leather: 5 cups raspberries with the seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• Strawberry Leather: 4 cups, hulled and chopped
• Strawberry-Banana Leather: 3 cups strawberries, hulled and chopped, plus 2 medium bananas, peeled. Don’t forget to use 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.

STORAGE

The fruit leather strips can be stored in zip-lock bags for up to one week, or in vacuum-sealed jars for several weeks.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!