When fruit is pureed, spread thinly and then dehydrated, it becomes a sweet/tart leathery snack that travels well. Murray Corman of the Rare Fruit and Vegetable Council of Broward County recommends mixing different fruits. “Combine low- and high-moisture fruit in a blender – sapodilla and carambola; mamey and soursop; fig and jackfruit; mango and papaya,” he says. Add agave syrup to sour fruit, like strawberries. Don’t be afraid to be adventurous in concocting leather combinations, he says. “Try ginger, dark chocolate, black sapote, cayenne pepper, coconut, macadamia nuts, frozen pulp from the grocery, aloe, açai. Dark chocolate is quite bitter. So imagine grated chocolate, tamarind deseeded, agave syrup, apple juice and a dash of cayenne powder. After you recover, try cocoa powder, avocado, agave syrup, lemon juice. This tends to be thick, so form into 1-inch bars on plastic wrap.”
Ingredients
- Tropical fruits
- Lemon or lime juice, if desired
- Honey, agave or simple syrup, if desired
Instructions
Peel, seed and cut fully ripe fruits into chunks, then puree in a blender until smooth. If necessary, add lemon or lime juice to prevent browning. Add honey, agave syrup or simple syrup to sweeten if you want. Line trays with plastic wrap, or use fruit roll tray liners (available with some models) and spread mixture to ¼-inch thickness. Dry for about 10 hours until fruit leather is dry – a low temperature is better than high to preserve flavor. Touch gently to make sure there are no sticky areas. Remove and peel leather from trays while still warm. Cut into pieces, lay on clean plastic wrap and roll up. Let cool before double-bagging. Label and date. Store in refrigerator.
