Eatdrink #54 July/August 2015

№ 54 | July/August 2015 www.eatdrink.ca 53
Seasonal Fruit Leather
Making this fruit leather fills the kitchen with the sweet smell of your summer or
fall harvest simmering on the stove. Store these tasty, nutritious treats all the
way into winter — if you can resist them for that long.
8 cups (2 L) fruit, such as berries, apples, pears, peaches, plums
1 cup (250 mL) water
Sugar to taste
Lemon juice to taste
Spices, such as cinnamon or vanilla
1 Rinse the fruit and remove any branches and leaves. Chop and
remove pits and seeds.
2 In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring fruit and water to a simmer. Reduce heat,
cover and let simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the fruit has softened. Uncover and mash
the fruit in the pan. Taste and add sugar and lemon juice if necessary. Add sugar 1 Tbsp
(15 mL) at a time and lemon juice 1 tsp (5 mL) at a time. Add any spices that go well
with the fruit you are using. Simmer until fruit mixture has started to thicken (about 5
to 10 minutes).
3 Purée the mixture in a food
processor. Taste again and
adjust sugar, lemon juice or
spices. Pour the mixture into a
large baking sheet with a rim
to a thickness of 1/8 to ¼ inch
(0.13–0.6 cm).
4 Preheat the oven to its lowest
setting (around 140F/60C).
Place the baking sheet in the
oven. For conventional ovens,
prop the door open an inch
(2.5 cm) or so to allow airflow.
If you have a convection oven,
use the convection setting as it
will dry the fruit leather faster.
No need to prop oven if you
have a convection oven, which
will circulate air inside by itself.
5 Let the fruit leather dry in the
oven until it no longer runs
when you lift the pan and a
knife doesn’t slide into it easily.
This will take anywhere from 8
to 24 hours.
6 Peel the fruit leather off the
baking sheet. Cut into strips
and roll up in parchment paper.
7 Store in airtight containers
(such as glass jars) in the
cupboard for several weeks or
in the freezer for a year or more.
Makes about 24 strips