The lowest my ovens will go is 170 degrees. I suppose you could crack the oven door and see if you can get a lower temperature, but I didn’t. My convection ovens dried the fruit leather in 4 hours (remember to rotate your sheets, giving them a turn about every hour and moving them around on the racks). After the 4 hours, I turned the oven off and left them to sit overnight while the oven cooled down. My tray for the conventional oven had more fruit puree and lacked the air flow (the fans) of the convection ovens. This tray dried for 6 hours. In the same article, it said to let your fruit leather sit in the open air a day to finish the drying process. That’s what I did. Then I placed a piece of parchment paper on top of the fruit leather, smoothed it down, flipped the leather over and peeled the Sil Pat pad off. It was perfect. Roll it up in the parchment (which is WAY easy to remove) and store it in zip lock bags in the fridge or freezer. After wrapping, I cut mine into 1 – 2 inch segments and tossed in the bag. This is SOOOOOO good.
My fruit combination was purple plums and strawberries (just cleaning out the fridge). I added sugar to taste (next time I’ll add honey) a little lemon juice and cooked it down till it was a little thick. I’m on a new kick – making fruit leather. It’s a keeper!
I’m sure that this is WAY more information than you ever wanted about making fruit leather, but I think “knowledge is power”, hahahahahah. Go through the info, it really isn’t that much, then have some fun making memories of childhood…fruit leather.
*Fruit leathers are homemade fruit rolls. They are a tasty, chewy, dried fruit product. Fruit leathers are made by pouring pureed fruit onto a flat surface for drying. When dried, the fruit is pulled from the surface and rolled. It gets the name "leather" from the fact that when the pureed fruit is dried, it is shiny and has the texture of leather.
The advantages of making your own fruit leathers are to use less sugar and to mix fruit flavors. Leftover fruit pulp from making jelly can be blended and made into fruit rolls.
For the diabetic adult or child, fruit leathers made without sugar are a healthy choice for snacks or desserts. Individual fruit leathers should contain the amount of fruit allowed for the fruit exchange.
Directions follow for making fruit leathers. Fresh, frozen or drained canned fruit can be used.
HOW DRYING PRESERVES FRUIT LEATHER
The optimum temperature for drying food is 140 F. If higher temperatures are used, the fruit leather may "case harden"; that is cook and harden on the outside while trapping moisture on the inside. The fruit leather will eventually mold when moisture equilibrates during storage. Thus, the drying process should never be hurried by raising the drying temperature. (See Table 1 regarding the suitability of various fruits for making fruit leather.)
LEATHERS FROM FRESH FRUIT
1) Select ripe or slightly overripe fruit.
2) Wash fresh fruit or berries in cool water. Remove peel, seeds, stems and bruised or spoiled portions.
3) Cut fruit into chunks. Use two cups of fruit for each 13" X 15"fruit leather. Puree fruit until smooth. If thick, add liquid to bring to a pouring consistency.
4) Add two teaspoons lemon juice or 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (375 mg) for each two cups of light colored fruit to prevent darkening.
5) Optional: To sweeten, add corn syrup, honey or sugar. Corn syrup or honey is best for longer storage because it prevents crystal formation. Sugar is fine for immediate use or short storage. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar, corn syrup or honey for each two cups of fruit. Saccharin-based sweeteners could also be used to reduce tartness without adding calories. Aspartame sweeteners may lose sweetness during drying.
Table 1 - Fruits at a glance
| Fruit | Suitability for Fruit Leather |
| Apples | Excellent |
| Apricots | Excellent |
| Avocados | Not recommended |
| Bananas | Fair to good |
| Berries with seeds | Excellent |
| Blueberries | Only in combination |
| Cherries | Excellent |
| Citrus fruits | Only in combination |
| Citrus peel | Only in combination |
| Crabapples | Only in combination |
| Cranberries | Only in combination |
| Grapes | Fair to good |
| Guavas | Only in combination |
| Melons | Not recommended |
| Nectarines | Excellent |
| Peaches | Excellent |
| Pears | Excellent |
| Pineapples | Excellent |
| Plums | Good |
| Strawberries | Excellent |
| LEATHERS FROM CANNED OR FROZEN FRUIT 1) Home preserved or store-bought canned or frozen fruit can be used. Applesauce can be dried alone or added to any fresh fruit puree as an extender. It decreases tartness and makes the leather smoother and more pliable. 2) Drain fruit, save liquid. 3) Use one pint of fruit for each 13" X 15" leather. 4) Puree fruit until smooth. If thick, add liquid to bring to a pouring consistency. 5) Add two teaspoons of lemon juice or 1/8 teaspoon ascorbic acid (375 mg) for each two cups of light colored fruit to prevent darkening. SPICES and FLAVORINGS Spices to Try--Allspice, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mace, mint, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice. Use sparingly, start with 1/8 teaspoon for each two cups of puree. Flavorings to Try --Almond extract, lemon juice, lemon peel, lime juice, lime peel, orange extract, orange juice, orange peel or vanilla extract. Use sparingly, try 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon for each two cups of puree. PREPARING THE TRAYS To dry in a dehydrator, specially designed plastic sheets can be purchased or plastic trays can be lined with plastic wrap. POURING THE LEATHER DRYING THE LEATHER DEHYDRATOR DRYING It takes approximately six to eight hours for fruit leather to dry in a dehydrator. Follow manufacturers directions. In general, fruit leather should be dried at around 140 F. OVEN DRYING An oven can be used for occasional drying of fruit leathers. Because the oven may also be needed for everyday cooking, it may not be satisfactory for preserving abundant fruit leather. Oven drying may take up to 18 hours for fruit leathers. Oven drying is slower than dehydrators because the oven does not have a built-in fan for the air movement. (However, some convection ovens do have a fan.) It takes two to three times longer to dry fruit leather in an oven than in a dehydrator; thus, the oven is not as efficient as a dehydrator and uses more energy. To Use Your Oven--First, check your dial and see if it has a reading as low as 140 F. Check oven temperature on warm setting with an oven thermometer. If your oven does not go this low, then your food will cook instead of dry. Low humidity aids the drying process. To dry fruit leather, the water must move from the fruit leather to the surrounding air. If the surrounding air is humid, then drying will be slowed down. Avoid drying fruit leather during rainy or humid weather. Increasing the air current speeds up drying by moving the surrounding moist air away from the fruit leather. To speed the drying time, increase the air flow. For air circulation, leave the oven door propped open two to six inches. Circulation can be improved by placing a fan outside the oven near the door. Change the position of the fan frequently during drying to vary the circulation of the air. CAUTION: This is not a safe practice for a home with small children. Because the door is left open, the temperature will vary. Place an accurate and easy-to-read oven thermometer on the top tray toward the back. Adjust the temperature dial to achieve the needed 140 F. Maintain the temperature at 140 F. It takes less heat to keep the temperature at 140 F as drying progresses, so watch the temperature carefully toward the end of drying. STORING THE LEATHER |
*The preceding information is from Pleasant Hill Grain. Check out their website at www.pleasanthillgrain.com
One thing you can do with excess fruit of the season is to make fruit leather, sort of the beef jerky of fruit. I used to love this stuff as a kid, made for a great snack and instant energy, and was easy to pack. Last fall I made fruit leather with the leftover grape mush from making grape juice, and this week it was fruit leather from our neighbor Pat's apricots (Pat's apricots are so ripe that when you go to pick one, two more fall off the branch). What follows is a general guideline to making fruit leather, no set recipe. So much of it depends on the specific fruit you are working with.
I imagine that not all fruits are best processed the same way, and some might work well mixed in with other things, like cherries with ground almonds for example. I know that some people prefer to process just the raw fruit; I like cooking the fruit first to up the intensity of the flavor, and kill any bacteria that might be lurking around on the fruit. When apple butter season starts, I may make a fruit leather batch with extra ground cloves, cinnamon and cider vinegar.
How to Make Fruit Leather
Ingredients:
Fresh fruit (apricots, peaches, plums, berries, apples, pears, grapes) Water
Lemon juice
Sugar (if needed)
Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)
Method
1 Rinse the fruit. If you working with stone fruit, take out the pits and chop the fruit. If working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. If working with grapes, de-stem them.
Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet (ripe Concord grapes for example) you will not need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.
2 Place the fruit in a large saucepan. Add a half cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit. Bring to a simmer, cover and let cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir. Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan. Taste the fruit and determine what and how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add. Add sugar in small amounts (1 Tbsp at a time if working with 4 cups of fruit), to desired level of sweetness. Add lemon juice one teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to augment the flavor.
Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened; another 5 or 10 minutes (or more).
Note if you are working with grapes - strain the juice out of the mashed grapes to make grape juice. Force what is left behind, after straining, through a food mill, to make the purée for the next step.
3 Put the purée through a food mill or chinoise or you can purée it thoroughly in a blender or food processor. Taste again and adjust sugar/lemon/spices if necessary. The purée should be very smooth.
4 Line a rimmed baking sheet with sturdy plastic wrap (the kind that is microwave safe). Pour out the purée into the lined baking sheet to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.
5 Place the baking sheet in the oven, try to keep any plastic wrap from touch the sides of the oven or the oven racks. Also try to make sure that the plastic wrap hasn't folded back over on top of the purée. If this happens, the purée won't dry out. Heat the oven to a low 140°F. If you have a convection setting, use it, it will speed up the process and help dry out the purée. Let dry in the oven like this for as long as it takes for the purée to dry out and form fruit leather. We usually keep it in the oven overnight, so about 8-12 hours. The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky, but has a smooth surface.
Alternatives to the oven: If you have a food dehydrator, this would be a great use of it. My mother suggested putting the tray in the Weber grill, and leaving covered, in the sun all day. Sounds like a good trick, but I haven't tried it yet. My parents remember the traditional way of making fruit leather was just to tent the tray with some cheesecloth and leave it outside in the sun on a hot day. 
6 When the fruit leather is ready, you can easily peel it up from the plastic wrap. To store it, roll it in its plastic wrap, put it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or freezer.4 cups of fruit yield about one baking sheet of fruit leather.
Here’s a recipe for Mango Fruit Leather. You can adapt it for the oven if you like.
Mango Leather
You will need:
2 lb mangoes (about 3 medium)
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Plastic food storage bags or vacuum packages
Directions:
1.) WASH mangoes and drain; Peel, pit and dice mangoes.
2.) PUREE mangoes in a food processor or blender. Add corn syrup and lemon juice. Blend.
Spread puree evenly on dehydrator trays to 1/4-inch thick. 2 lb mangoes (about 3 medium)
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Plastic food storage bags or vacuum packages
Directions:
1.) WASH mangoes and drain; Peel, pit and dice mangoes.
2.) PUREE mangoes in a food processor or blender. Add corn syrup and lemon juice. Blend.
3.) DRY at 135°F until pliable, about 12 to 14 hours.
4.) CUT mango leather into 6-inch circles. Place parchment paper or plastic wrap between
circles.
5.) STORE in plastic food storage bags or vacuum package. Label.
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