On Cooking for Kids - Homemade Fruit Roll-ups/Fruit Leather

These were blackberry and banana fruit rolls. They looked
much better than they tasted, possibly because I'm not a fan
of super ripe bananas and the ones I used were pretty brown.
The kiddos didn't like them much either.

When I first was introduced to fruit leather, I was really confused. It sounded weird. Then I came to realize that it's basically strips of dehydrated fruit and other ingredients made as a healthy alternative to artificial fruit snacks like fruit rolls and other treats that have very little actual fruit in them. Some moms I knew even made their own fruit leather. I was fascinated and as someone that typically has treats in the car, purse, and/or diaper bag for my kiddos, I was really interested in another healthy option that didn't require an ice pack. I hate carrying around fruit, cheese, and other fresh snacks because of the requirement for refrigeration. I don't want to forget something that would spoil in the diaper bag if I happened to leave it in the car - not to mention the fact that I cram my little diaper bag full so to carry and ice pack and other snacks, I'd often have to carry another bag - who wants to do that?

I began looking into making these fruit treats, but was disappointed to find that they required a dehydrator which I did not have. I continued looking for recipes and found that they could be made with some success in the oven. Not mine, apparently. I'd like to offer encouragement to those that don't have dehydrators, but I'm not a success story in that respect. My oven goes to a minimum temp of 170 which is not low enough to dehydrate the fruit without burning ends and leaving the middle soggy. Keeping the door open or cracked to minimize the temp is not only a waste of energy and a good way to make an A/C pointless, but it's also a hazard to little ones when you have to keep it going for 10-12 hours. Not to mention tying up the oven that long. I had a few failed attempts at trying to regulate the temperature to keep it low, turning the oven on and off, opening the door frequently, etc. It didn't end well.

I got a dehydrator. Not specifically for this, but it was one of many reasons (along with setting dill on fire in the microwave while trying to dry it, but that's another story). I'm so happy about this purchase and now I make fruit leather on a regular basis. I've experimented with a lot of different kinds and I have my favorite methods, so here's some more insight on what I've made and how I've done it:

Strawberries & Cherries
- These can be done raw and whole. I've used fresh strawberries as well as thawed, previously frozen strawberries. I've only used fresh cherries, but I'd guess results would be similar with thawed, previously frozen cherries as well. 1 lb of fruit puréed in the blender with about 2-4 Tbsp of honey makes a perfect mixture. The honey is optional, of course, but sometimes if the fruit isn't fully ripe and sweet, it needs a bit of enhancement

Blackberries & Raspberries
- These can also be done raw and I've used both fresh and thawed, previously frozen berries. It's best to strain out the seeds from the puréed fruit when you use these and similar fruits. The seeds are edible, of course, but it does a number on texture. Even if you have a high powered super blender that chops the seeds, you'll still end up with a gritty texture, so I'd still recommend straining. 12 oz of fruit & 2-4 Tbsp of honey

Watermelon
- This one was mostly experimental, but turned out great. After removing seeds, purée the watermelon and strain off the liquid. The fruit leather is then made from the remaining pulp. Don't worry, there is still plenty of flavor. Don't discard the juice, it makes for a nice refreshing drink. I'm not sure on measurements on this, I just filled my blender with chopped watermelon pieces, strained, and added some honey.

Grapes
- Seedless grapes make this a lot easier. I cooked the grapes on the stove on low heat with a little bit of water until they started popping like cranberries and then put them whole in the blender. I then put them back on the stove on low heat and cooked down some more. I've only done this with red grapes, but I'm sure any variety would work. Once the grapes are thickened, you can set them up to dehydrate. 1 lb of fruit 2-4 Tbsp honey on this as well.

Apples & Cranberries
- For these, I set up my homemade sauces. I make unsweetened apple sauce from fresh apples (cook peeled apples with a small amount of water on the stove on low heat, purée once mushy to give a smooth texture), so for apple fruit leather, I just use that and sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar. I had made an excess of cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries for Thanksgiving last year and just used the sauce as-is for fruit leather - worked wonderfully.

I'm wanting to experiment with more fruit, but it will come as time goes on. I'll keep updating this blog with new ideas that have worked.

Ok, so, step by step:

Prepare fruit as described above, filling blender and purée.

Strain if necessary and blend again adding honey (or other sweetener of choice if any). You can see I'm really precise about measuring my honey.

The result after cooking and puréeing or just puréeing should be a relatively smooth liquid. If it is not smooth, blend for longer. If it is too runny, like in the case of watermelon, you may need to strain off some excess liquid so it doesn't run everywhere on your tray.

So, once you have your liquefied fruit mix, pour it out onto your dehydrator sheet. I like to oil mine because my sheets are not non-stick, and believe me, it will stick. Use your favorite oil or non-stick spray. Don't go overboard, you don't want the resultant fruit leather to be greasy.

I prefer not to spread it out too much because it will get significantly thinner as it dehydrates. Thicker pools will take longer, but result in thicker fruit strips, so this is what I prefer. In the picture below, it is spread out much more than I like and you can see it starting to creep out of the holes on the edge of the tray. That equals a big mess.

The temp setting may vary, but I like to do mine around 130 degrees. I do check on it from time to time and lower the temp if the edges are dehydrating too quickly or there are "cracks" developing. Alternately, I will increase the temp if it's going too slowly. The whole process can take 10-15 hours depending on the temp, fruit, and moisture content. In the picture below, you can see a "crack" in the upper left corner of the finished fruit. This is because it dehydrated unevenly. If your heat is too high, this can happen, so if you see it, you can cut back the temp. It doesn't ruin it, but it may not look as pretty and cut up as neatly, so it's entirely up to you.

Once the fruit is done, I peel it off the sheets and cut into 1 1/2 - 2 in strips that are about 3 - 4 in long depending on how big the whole fruit piece is. I like to use a pizza cutter for ease. You can cut them whatever size you like. I used to cut them to about fruit roll-up size and roll them, but I've been doing strips more lately because it's easier. And they last longer since the kids aren't eating such big pieces at a time.

And for a pretty display, you can roll them up and show them off.

I hope this helps if you are ever interested in making some of your own! Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to make them easily and quickly. Strawberry are by far the most common ones I make, but I enjoy trying new things. It's also a great way to prolong the life of certain fruits that aren't getting consumed quickly enough.

Have you made fruit leather? What fruits and combos have you made?