Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (2024)

Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (1)

By DG

DG

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July 18th, 2011 25

Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (2)
Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (3)
By Katie Goodman
Fruit Roll-Ups are fun treats, but they’re not exactly something I want my kids eating every day. I recently experimented with making homemade fruit leather. It’s so good!
Recipes like this are perfect for when you have lots of less-than-prime fruit on hand that needs to be used up fast. In this instance, I had a combo of peaches and cherries that would soon be heading south.
Give this 100% fruit snack a try next time your kids have a sweet craving. You can control the amount of sugar or use none at all.

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Ingredients

4-5 large peaches (5 1/2 cups chopped)
2 1/2 cups fresh cherries
1 cup water
Sugar or agave
, to taste

Directions

Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (5)
Step 1: Wash and dry the fruit.
Step 2: Slice the peaches in half, starting at the stem, and cut through till you reach the pit. Cut all the way around the peach. Then, twist the two halves to separate them. Remove and discard the pit. Slice and chop the peaches.
Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (6)
Step 3: Using a cherry pitter, remove the stems and pits from the cherries. Discard the pits and stems.
Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (7)
Step 4: Combine the peaches and cherries in a medium-sized sauce pan. Add the water. Place over medium heat on the stove. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Step 5: Remove the lid and mash the fruit using a potato masher.
Step 6: Taste for sweetness and add sugar or agave according to your personal tastes. You may not need to add any if your fruit is very sweet. Start with no more than 1 tablespoon of sweetener at a time and adjust until you’ve reached your perfect sweetness.
Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (8)
Step 7: Add mixture to a food processor and puree until very smooth.
Step 8: Line a rimmed baking sheet(s) with parchment paper. You may need more than one sheet depending on its size. I used two 15 1/2″ x 10″ baking sheets. Pour the puree onto the lined baking sheet until the mixture is 1/4″ thick. For fruit roll-up-like thinness, use two 15 1/2″ x 10″ baking sheets and pour at a thickness of ⅛”. For a thicker, fruit leather style, use one pan and pour at a thickness of ¼”.
Step 9: Bake the sheets in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 8-10 hours, or until the puree is dry and leather-like. When ready, the puree will no longer be sticky and will have a smooth surface.
Step 10: After the fruit leather has dried, it is easily peeled away from the parchment paper. Store it rolled in the parchment in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

About the Author:
Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (9)

Katie Goodman blogs at goodLife {eats} where she shares what she finds good in the kitchen and in life through recipes, family memories, and yummy photography. She also works as a freelance food writer and photographer for various sites. Outside of cooking, Katie loves reading, gardening, visiting family, and attending the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she resides with her husband and two children.

  1. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (10)rachellesays:

    July 18th, 2011 at 11:33 am

    how long is this good for in the fridge?

  2. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (11)Katie | GoodLife Eatssays:

    July 18th, 2011 at 12:18 pm

  3. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (12)Candysays:

    July 18th, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    Just wondering if you have tried this with any
    other fruits.

  4. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (13)Katie | GoodLife Eatssays:

    July 18th, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    I have not personally used other fruits yet, but I have had homemade fruit leather that others have made. You can use apricots, apples, etc. Any fruit should work just use the same proportion of fruit for the recipe. If using berries like raspberries, you would probably want to strain the seeds out first.

  5. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (14)Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchensays:

    July 18th, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    I never knew how easy this was to make at home, thanks Katie!

  6. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (15)Réginasays:

    July 19th, 2011 at 5:47 am

    I’ve made it with whatever fruit I have at hand, but without cooking and without sugar, which attracts moisture and prevents long term storage. Fresh fruit can be pureed in a blender without adding water.
    I’ve used different fruit leathers (apple/blueberry, apple/strawberry, prunes, pears etc) to make edible Christmas cards: cut elongated triangles with pinking shears and stick them to a blank card with a tiny drop of water as trees. They were a great hit.

  7. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (16)Tracysays:

    July 19th, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    I never realized how easy this is! What a wonderful and fun-to-make snack!

  8. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (17)Aggieasays:

    July 19th, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    This is great Katie! Wow, I had no idea I could make this at home like this!

  9. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (18)Sue Rickettssays:

    September 19th, 2011 at 8:57 pm

    Hi,
    Just asking about the paper you used. I’ve read in some other recipes that you use plastic wrap. I am not aware that there are types of plastic wrap you can use in the oven. Can you clarify this? Also when you say parchment paper could I just use baking paper?
    Thanks,
    Sue

  10. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (19)Daniellasays:

    November 14th, 2013 at 3:16 am

    Terrific website you’ve gotten right here.

  11. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (20)Jessica Faith Schwarzottsays:

    June 23rd, 2014 at 10:08 am

    so, my oven doesn’t go any below 170 degrees, so I set the timer at 6 hours and i’ll just continue to check on it periodically. my house smells amazing though!

  12. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (21)Ultimate Back to School Lunchbox Ideas Collection | Pocket Change Gourmetsays:

    August 12th, 2014 at 4:52 am

    […] Homemade Fruit Roll ups (Fruit Leather) from Makezine […]

  13. Recipe: Make Homemade Fruit Leather (22)50+ Back to School Recipes: Quick & Easy | Pocket Change Gourmetsays:

    August 19th, 2014 at 9:49 am

    […] Homemade Fruit Roll ups(Fruit Leather) from Makezine […]

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FAQs

How long does homemade fruit leather last? ›

How Long Does Fruit Leather Last? You can easily store fruit leather, rolled up and placed in a large lidded jar or zip-top bag at room temperature for up to 1 month. For longer storage (up to 6 months), refrigerate your fruit leather. For even longer storage (up to 1 year), you can freeze your homemade treats.

What fruits can be made into leather? ›

Making fruit leather is a good way to use leftover canned fruit and slightly overripe fresh fruit. The following fruits were rated as “excellent” or “good” by the University of Georgia for preparing fruit leather: apples, apricots, berries, cherries, nectarines, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums and strawberries.

How do you turn jam into fruit leather? ›

This is as simple as, well, jam. Take your favorite jam, purée it, strain it and dehydrate it for a spell and you will end up with some tasty fruit leather. But you may want to level it up along the way. To take it a step further and get creative—use fresh juice and essential oils to level up your candy making game.

Is homemade fruit leather good for you? ›

When making fruit leather at home you can control how much sugar is added. For the diabetic fruit leathers without sugar are a healthy choice for snacks or desserts. Individual fruit leathers should contain the amount of fruit allowed for a fruit exchange.

Why is fruit leather expensive? ›

Fruit and plant leather is more expensive than animal leather due to the technical effort required, but it is considerably simpler and more environmentally friendly to produce this leather in terms of the number of natural resources used.

Can I use parchment paper in my dehydrator for fruit leather? ›

To fill all four of our dehydrator trays we need about 6-8 cups of pureed fruit; depending on your dehydrator this could vary. Line the trays with parchment paper, as sometimes the puree can leak through. We start with the wrap and remove it after a few hours when it has started to dry.

Can you use parchment paper for fruit leather? ›

Making fruit leather is like making a smoothie with one extra step. In a blender, you blitz your fruit with lemon juice and any spices or sweeteners and then spread it out on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Pop it in the oven and let it dry for hours.

Is fruit leather good or bad for you? ›

A piece of fruit leather is no doubt more nutritious than lots of other snack foods – Twinkies, for instance. But fruit leathers can contain high concentrations of pesticides. That's because the agricultural chemicals are sprayed on the fruit from which they are made.

Why did my fruit leather burn? ›

If edges are thinner than the middle, your fruit leather will dry unevenly and may burn on the edges. Place into 170 degree F oven for 2 hours. Check tackiness: if lightly touched with your finger, does the puree still feel like puree?

Why is my fruit leather cracking? ›

If your fruit leather is brittle and cracking easily, that could be a sign that it's too dry. If you are having trouble peeling the fruit leather from the pan, try moistening it to help prevent it from cracking.

Is homemade fruit leather shelf stable? ›

Chances are the fruit leather will not last long enough for storage. If it does, it will keep up to 1 month at room temperature. For storage up to 1 year, place tightly wrapped rolls in the freezer.

Why is my fruit leather not drying? ›

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.

What does pectin do in fruit leather? ›

Pectin acts as a gelling agent in the manufacturing of gelled foods (jam, jelly, marmalade, fruit leather).

Is fruit leather as healthy as fruit? ›

But the process of dehydrating otherwise nutritious fresh fruit to make snacks such as fruit leather drastically increases the concentration of natural sugar the snack contains – far more than you'd consume in a similar-size serving of its fresh counterpart.

What is the leather made of fruit waste? ›

At the intersectionality of design, material science and sustainability, Peelsphere developed a truly circular bio material made from fruit waste and algae. The colorful and translucent material offers a durable and versatile substitute to leather or synthetic sheet material that comes in various colors and patterns.

Is fruit leather a choking hazard? ›

These can pose a choking hazard and should be chopped up appropriately. If introducing fruit snacks like fruit leather or fruit chews, choose natural varieties with 100 percent fruit and few sugars and again, make sure that the pieces are small enough that your child will not choke.

Is fruit leather vegan? ›

It makes apple leather from leftover pomace and peel from the fruit juice and compote industry. The material is an innovative and environmentally friendly substitute for animal leather. Bite into its story here. Fruitleather Rotterdam found a wonderful and sustainable way to create vegan leather.

References

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