Fruit leather - wolgast.no

Have you thought about trying your hand at fruit rolls, also referred to as fruit leather? Is this concept new to you? Or have you already created many of these and are now on the lookout for fresh and exciting recipes? If so, then it’s definitely worth continuing to read!

Delicious and nutritious snack for outdoor activities

Fruit rolls are simple to prepare and serve as a highly nutritious snack option. They are crafted by blending fruits into a smooth puree using a blender, and then dehydrating the puree in a food dehydrator. This delightful snack is often called ‘fruit leather’ due to its resemblance to the texture of leather.

Fruitleather is a delicious hiking snack! — Fruit rolls or fruit leather are delicious and a great alternative to candy!

The rolls are packed with vitamins and minerals. Depending on the fruit you use, they also contain fiber. When out on a hike, this snack offers a small energy boost when needed. By incorporating oats, crushed nuts, seeds, chia seeds, or coconut flakes, the fruit rolls provide extra calories that many value during physical activity. Since kids love fruit rolls, they are also a good candy alternative!

Jump right into the recipes

If you’d like to bypass the guide, as well as the advice and tips on drying fruit rolls, feel free to go straight to the fruit roll recipes.

Raspberry and mango
Pineapple with coconut flakes
Red grapes with mango and chia seeds
Strawberry and vanilla
Apple with apple jam and walnuts

Kiwi
Strawberry with banana and chia seeds
Mango with Ginger and Coconut Flakes
Apple jam and blueberries

Which fruits are suitable for making fruit rolls

Ripe fruit contains more pectin and is better suited for making fruit rolls than unripe fruit. If the fruit contains too little pectin, the rolls tend to crack instead of becoming leathery. This can be resolved by mixing low-pectin fruits with fruits like banana or apple jam. Another approach involves simmering the fruit mixture until it achieves a thicker consistency, although this may come at the cost of some vitamins. I utilize both frozen and fresh fruits. Here are examples of fruits that work well:

Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Pineapple
Bananas
Kiwis
Mangoes
Citrus fruits, best when combined with other fruits
Nectarines
Pears
Apples
Grapes

Sweetening

When you dehydrate fruit puree, the flavor becomes sweeter and more intense. Therefore, it may not always be necessary to add sweeteners. However, if you find the fruit mixture lacking in sweetness, you can incorporate sugar, honey, maple syrup, or another type of sweetener.

Elevate fruit leather with spices, nuts, and seeds

For a more intriguing taste, you can also enhance the flavor by adding ingredients like cinnamon, vanilla, mint, ginger, and more. Your creativity is the only boundary. You can create fruit rolls using a single type of fruit or combine multiple fruit varieties.

Examples

Spices – To achieve exciting flavors, consider options such as cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, pepper, vanilla, and more.
Nuts and Seeds – To boost the nutritional content of your fruit rolls, you can include crushed nuts, various types of seeds, and coconut flakes.
Lemon Juice – When using fruits like mangoes, pears, kiwis, apples, or bananas, it’s a good idea to add lemon juice to prevent discoloration during the drying process.

How to dehydrate fruit leather

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a smooth puree. Spread the mixture in a thin and even layer, about 3 to 5 mm thick, on drying trays with Paraflexx drying sheets. Dry the puree at the specified temperature and time. Fruit leather is ready when it feels leathery. If you press your finger on the mixture and you can still see your fingerprint, then it’s not dry enough. The fruit leather should not stick when you remove it from the drying sheet. If you’ve dried the fruit mixture for too long and it cracks, you can spray a little water over the mixture using a spray bottle and let it absorb for 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can let the fruit leather sit at room temperature until it softens.

Storage

Once the fruit leather is fully dried, you can either roll it up and cut it into appropriately sized pieces, or you can cut the fruit leather into strips and roll them up. I prefer the latter method. To prevent the fruit rolls from sticking together during storage, you can place parchment paper on the fruit leather before cutting it into strips and rolling it up. Store the rolls in airtight containers.

Shelf Life

Generally, properly stored fruit leather has a long shelf life. However, if you include nuts, seeds, oats, coconut flakes, etc., the shelf life will be noticeably shorter. I’ve never managed to test the exact shelf life, as the fruit rolls are so popular in our household that they get eaten before they even come close to expiring!

Fruit roll recipes

Below, you’ll find all the recipes for fruit rolls or fruit leather that I have experimented with thus far.