quixoticgeek
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Fruit LeatherLast night we had a go at making blackberry and apple leather.
The hardest bit seemd to be getting my oven to maintain 60C.
But today we are now struggling to get it to seperate from the greese proof paper. I don't know if I used the wrong sort of paper, or what. the result has the sort of leathery nature we expected, and looks fantastic, it's just highly laborious to seperate.
Anyone else tried making it? How did you get on?
J
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ksia
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Well done!
I'd like to.
I keep being tempted to make it but then read I have to have the oven on for 10-12h at a low temp (some recipes even say with the door open) and I just can't do that, it just seems wrong having the oven on for sooooo long.
Perhaps I should eat some and I'd discover it is worth it!
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alice
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Haven't made it, but would suggest baking parchment as a substitute for greaseproof paper. Nothing sticks to it 
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match
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Re: Fruit LeatherI've used the non-stick teflon sheets you can buy in places like Lakeland - they're fantastic for this kind of thing, as the fruit leather just falls off afterwards.
I had a look in the recipe database but couldn't find one, so I thought I'd post mine. In my small dehydrator it takes around 10-12 hours to dry fully:
Fruit Leather
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500g Soft Fruit(s)
500g Apples
1 Lemon
150g Honey
Peel and core the apples. Put all the fruit and lemon juice in a pan and cook for around 20 minutes to a soft pulp. Rub the mixture through a sieve to remove any seeds or bits. Add the honey and mix well.
Line two baking sheets and spread the puree out across them
with the back of a spoon to form a thin layer. Place in the oven at around 60C for 12-18 hours, until the leather is completely dry and readily peels off. Cut into strips and roll up.
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Minamoo
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If you don't have non-stick teflon sheets, you should use cling film. As long as the oven temp doesn't go up too high (i.e 100C or more) the cling film doesn't melt. It's actually what I use to cover the plastic sheets in my dehydrator until I get round to buying/can afford more of the teflon sheets.
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match
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I've just finished another batch, and (stupidly) put some on cheap greaseproof baking paper - to find it was stuck hard this morning.
However, after some experimentation, I discovered that holding the sheet over a steaming kettle softens the sheet just enough that the paper peels easily off the back.
Probably too late for your original batch, but I thought it might be of use to anyone else who hits this problem!
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Pilsbury
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just seen this but if it is stuck tight you can pop it back into a warm oven for a few mins to soften it up again, the trouble with a steaming kettle is it introduces moisture again and might encourage mould growth if you want to store it for any length of time.
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Minamoo
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I forgot to say, for those doing this in the oven, the door really does need to be propped open to let the steam escape or you will end up with soggy, wierd tasting leather. The steam will just rehydrate it and it won't dry out properly.
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match
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| Pilsbury wrote: | | just seen this but if it is stuck tight you can pop it back into a warm oven for a few mins to soften it up again, the trouble with a steaming kettle is it introduces moisture again and might encourage mould growth if you want to store it for any length of time. |
I tried the oven first, but it didn't soften it enough, hence resorting to the kettle. Now its free from the paper its having another session in the oven to remove the extra moisture that the steam added - NOT on paper this time 
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Rob R
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I was going to have a go, but haven't got an oven at the moment but it's on the list when I do 
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