Plum Leather
Use very ripe fruit only. I don’t generally peel the fruits; the skin is nutritious and contains fibre. Puree fruit in a food processor or in a blender. The drying time of course will increase with the additional water or juice that will be required if you use a blender. So be diligent and add as little liquid to the fruit as possible. The puree should be very smooth. If you combine different fruits, puree each fruit separately and mix together afterwards. Berries and plums retain their brilliant color, but add a bit of Fruit Fresh to fruits that tend to oxidize. Although some berries require a bit of sweetener, most well ripened fruits do not require additional sugar.
FRUIT LEATHER
fruit
food processor or blender
4 mil thick heavy plastic wrap
• Wash fruit thoroughly and drain off all the water.
• Remove stems and stones.
• Puree thoroughly.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with a sturdy, microwave safe plastic wrap. [4 mil thick]
• Pour the puree into the lined baking sheet to 1/8 inch thickness.
• Place the baking sheet in the oven; do not let plastic wrap touch the sides of the oven or the oven racks.
• Make sure the plastic wrap doesn’t fold back over the puree. [The puree cannot dry out where the plastic falls back over the fruit.]
• Heat the oven to 140°F.
• Let the fruit dry in the oven for as long as it takes to form fruit leather.
• I find 6-8 hours is sufficient drying time.
• Because my oven rack has a slight slant, parts of the fruit leather dries out faster.
• I cut the dry parts out with a pair of clean kitchen sheers and return the rest to the oven.
• The fruit leather is ready when the fruit no longer sticks to the finger; instead it has a solid surface.
• When the fruit leather is ready, you can easily peel it up from the plastic wrap.
• Cut up to serving sizes or roll it in its plastic wrap, put it in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or freezer.
Ready for the oven
You can sprinkle the fruit puree with chopped nuts or spices. Garnishes will stick to fruit leather if it is still moist. This plum leather was sprinkled with chopped walnuts - and it's simply delicious!
