Dehydrating fruit leather help

[Hammock Hamster]

Hi guys,

I finally replaced my dehydrator after its untimely demise earlier in the year.

I did a few batches of veg and some jerky and thought I would try my hand at fruit leathers.

This is a first for me so found a very simple tutorial on the interweb which was basically -

Peel and core fruit (apples and raspberries)
Add splash of lemon juice
Blitz within an inch of its life
Pour into the precut baking sheets
Dehydrate for 6-8 hours

Here is the before and after





Now the end result was more of a fruit flavour crunchy wafer than fruit leather.

Can anyone advise on where I went wrong and what I should be doing instead?
A bit more googling brought up some suggestions of boiling the fruit up first, adding water whilst blending to make it "pourable" etc... Which I will try next time.

Also should I be checking regularly and stopping the dehydrator once it has set but is still tacky?

Cheers in advance, Hamster


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[charleslockerbie]

The only time iv done fruit leather (also apple and rasp) it was more like a thick juice after blending, rather than the paste you appear to have.
You could add water or perhaps juicier fruit. I did mine on baking trays in the oven so im not sure how you would deal with it in your dehydrator.

 

[widu13]

Add sugar to maintain elasticity, and don't over dry it. Try drying it in stages to test when your happy with the consistency, i.e. actually stopped the dehydrator and test it after a couple of hours, if not enough dehydrate a bit more- it won't go off.

 

[jacko1066]

I guess if its a bit wafer like, you could rehydrate it and use it in porridge?

Break it up into little bits and put the leather in before you cook it!!

 

[jacko1066]

Add sugar to maintain elasticity, and don't over dry it. Try drying it in stages to test when your happy with the consistency, i.e. actually stopped the dehydrator and test it after a couple of hours, if not enough dehydrate a bit more- it won't go off.

How do you judge the amount of sugar mate?

Do you just add it, mix it and if it tastes a lot sweeter that is enough?

 

[widu13]

How do you judge the amount of sugar mate?

Do you just add it, mix it and if it tastes a lot sweeter that is enough?

I just put a slack couple of dessert spoons in say 0.5l of blitzed fruit, then blitz it again. Mine stays soft but in gets stuck in your teeth!

 

[Toddy]

Never mind peeling and coring, etc.
Roughly chop or squash fruit, put it in a pan with just enough water to stop it sticking, and then simmer it until soft.
Strain through an ordinary sieve and that'll remove skins and seeds.
Return the juice to the cleaned pot and simmer down until it thickens, then spread it out on the dehydrator sheets.

Result = fruit leather with no extra sugar or any crunchy bits
The prior prep is worth it.

Pears are beautiful done this way

cheers,
Mary

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Thanks guys, I think I may use the first attempt as an ice cream topping or similar.

I think I may give the simmering option a try tomorrow and I now have a strong desire to get some pears to try out too!

Toddy, do you dry yours in the oven or in a dehydrator, I'm wondering if I'm drying them too much as they become very thin and brittle?

 

[jacko1066]

I've cream topper!! That's a great idea!!

Iv had a dehydrator for ages and kept meaning to do some fruit leather!!

 

[Toddy]

I usually do them in the dehydrator, but they worked fine on silicon sheets in the oven too.
Mine end up like slightly chewy, mildly sticky, and very guzzleable sweet fruit leather. Not at all crispy. If I want crispy I dry the fruit in slices.

M

 

[Toddy]

OFF TOPIC


..........when did I become "Part of the Furniture" ????

M

 

[copper_head]

OFF TOPIC


..........when did I become "Part of the Furniture" ????

M

Ooh new 'ranks', 3k posts is it?