Fruit leathers or fruit roll ups are homemade dried fruit rolls. Fruit leathers are made from pureed dried fruit dehydrated on a flat surface in a food dehydrator. After the fruit is dry, it is pulled from the drying surface, placed on plastic wrap, waxed or parchment paper and rolled into small tubes. It is most convenient to roll plastic, waxed or parchment wrap between individual serving sized fruit leathers. Fruit leather gets its name from the look and texture of the pureed dried fruit which is shiny and leathery.

The basic steps in making fruit leather are covered in this Food-Dehydrator.com article. Listed below are some additional tips and techniques for making great tasting fruit leather with your food dehydrator:

• A food processor is the best kitchen appliance to use to make the fruit puree and is the most capable of thoroughly mixing thicker purees. A regular kitchen blender can be used but you may need to add water to the fruit mixture to thin it out and allow the blender to work through the puree.
• The food dehydrator leather sheets can be lightly sprayed with vegetable oil to reduce post dehydration stick.
• After the puree is ready, spread it evenly on the drying sheet. Do not spread the puree too thinly and do not leave any holes in the puree as that could lead to cracks and or tears in the dried fruit leather.
• The puree should be spread to a 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness. One quarter inch is the maximum and optimal thickness. Use a toothpick to measure the thickness at various, different spots to judge the uniformity and evenness of the puree.
• In order to speed up the dehydrating process, flip the leather halfway through the drying process.
• The fruit leather is ready if it peels readily at the edges and if you can’t see any indentations after you touch it in several places. The fruit leather will continue to firm up after it is taken out of the food dehydrator.

Published 7/11/2009 12:00:00 AM

Tags: Fruit Leather, Fruit Roll Ups, Dried Fruit