Do you make other flavors (say, with stemless fruit), or only strawberry?

Do you make other flavors (say, with stemless fruit), or only strawberry?

I've had it with other fruits added to the strawberries like bananas. I've never tried it with an entirely different fruit before, but I was thinking about giving blueberry leather a try someday. =)

If the stems are really a problem, though, you can cut them off. You won't notice any difference in the final product. Heck, a couple of bugs in it as well would probably add some protein. =)

-- Ryan

a couple of bugs in it as well would probably add some protein.

worm jerky.

Shiloh

Didn't somebody mention an "EEEEEEEEWWWW" button earlier?? 'Cause I could use one of those right now...

TG *who will never knowingly eat bugs or worms*

Didn't somebody mention an "EEEEEEEEWWWW" button earlier??

I've been begging for one of those for ages... mostly in the threads where Wassa's involved.

HPL

I've been begging for one of those for ages... mostly in the threads where Wassa's involved.

With wassa, I mostly want a groan button.

TG

What are you talking about?

Oh. Now I know.

Oh. Now I know.

:( I don't. I have some idea but not 100%. I'm always in the dark. Humph.

Ryan has a blog in which he talked about making Strawberry Leather

GG Dana

Hmm... interesting. Thanks for the link, GG!

We made sun dried cherry leather this summer. Yum!

Blueberry leather should work. Just don't do what I did:

http://www.atlasquest.com/boards/message.html?gMsgId=402654;gAuthorId=3915;gSearch=blueberry

KuKu

We made sun dried cherry leather this summer. Yum!

that sounds good...what do you need to do to sun-dry it? I'm not looking to buy a dehydrator - heck, there's no room in my little kitchen for an additional appliance - but I would love to give fruit leather a shot. Please, share your methods!

rozebud

Pretty much the same directions of blending (although you do need to de-pit them!)

cover a jelly roll pan with plastic wrap, pour the blended fruit into it and dry in the sun ALL DAY. Works best if you live in a HOT, DRY climate. It is done when it is not sticky to the touch. The other method is to place in a conventional oven at 140 degrees for 12 hours with the door slightly open.

thanks Scoutingbear. Um, how do you keep the bugs and particulates off if it's just sitting outside in a pan?

Not sure I'll be able to do that here in St. Louis. I can get hot, but is often quite humid...moist...icky.

Now, the oven thing...we can do that. I'm sure the DH would love for me to leave the oven on all day long! :-)

A piece of screen like a replacement screen for a storm door would keep the bugs off and let the air circulate. It's too humid around here for that to work well though.

As far as leaving the oven on all day, think about it this way. What you are saving by making a big pan of fruit leather instead of buying the equivalent amount at a store (I'm talking the healthier sort that you'd get at a health food store, not Fruit By the Foot) :-) is probably about the same as the electricity you would use.

Knit Wit

As far as leaving the oven on all day, think about it this way. What you are saving by making a big pan of fruit leather instead of buying the equivalent amount at a store (I'm talking the healthier sort that you'd get at a health food store, not Fruit By the Foot) :-) is probably about the same as the electricity you would use.

You'll be using a lot of electricity leaving the oven on and the door open all day -- presuming you do this in the summer. Besides all the power the oven will consume, you're also dumping all that heat into the house, so the air conditioner is having to run that much more to deal with it! Now, if you do it in the winter, it's much better, because the heat from the oven just reduces how much the heater has to work to keep the house warm.

yes, but fresh fruit is plentiful and cheap in summer and fall, and expensive in winter...

romana

Besides all the power the oven will consume, you're also dumping all that heat into the house, so the air conditioner is having to run that much more to deal with it!

Consider this though, Kirbert. I live in the NC mountains. Temps at night have been in the low 60s recently. Our AC is set on 78. If I open the kitchen windows at night and run the oven for 12 hours then, I can turn off the AC completely.

The AC doesn't run at night here anyway.

15 oz. of fruit leather costs about $17 at the local health food store. With two pounds of fruit I'd be making twice that and the power charges wouldn't equal $34 for running my oven for one night. At least I would hope not. That would equal one third of our last month's power bill. I'm fairly sure the oven wouldn't use the equivalent of a third of a month's electricity in 12 hours set at 140.

Of course, this is just my opinion based on some rough estimates and last month's power bill.

Knit Wit

15 oz. of fruit leather costs about $17 at the local health food store. With two pounds of fruit I'd be making twice that and the power charges wouldn't equal $34 for running my oven for one night.

A couple of points to make. First, the open door should only be cracked open if you dehydrate using that method--don't leave it wide open. You can also dry several racks of leather at once to make things even more efficient. If you do it at a time when you'd likely be running a heater anyhow just to keep warm, even better. It's still probably the least efficient way to dehydrate stuff, but all of those factors will help.

Second, in my directions I wrote that you use two pounds of strawberries. (I actually used four pounds while making that batch, but I had to use the blender twice to get it all.) That's the weight before dehydrating, however. It'll likely weigh a lot less once it's dehydrated since a lot of that water in it will evaporate. I don't know what the final weight is, but if you put two pounds of strawberries into it, it'll create something less than that in leather weight.

I have to imagine, though, it's still probably a heck of a lot cheaper to make your own than buy it. Fruit leather seems shockingly expensive considering how much you get for the cost. You'd have to use an unbelievable amount of energy for it not to be cost effective. Especially if you use multiple racks to dry at once and dry it when the extra heat is needed in the house anyhow.

-- Ryan

yes, but fresh fruit is plentiful and cheap in summer and fall, and expensive in winter...

So buy in the summer, freeze, and defrost in winter and cook. :)

I never thought of that, because of how freezing changes the texture of fruit. but it needs to be mushy for leather anyway, so... here's my aha!-duh! moment for today. thanks for the idea, dizzy!

romana

I've been begging for one of those for ages... mostly in the threads where Wassa's involved.

You and me both :)

dancing pecan

An alternative would be to use your car as a great big dehydrator- even in humid climates they get hot and dry enough on the inside to dehydrate things right quick if you park it in a sunny spot all day.

Or... repurpose that old beater that's been parked in the side yard for the last two years. ;)

repurpose that old beater that's been parked in the side yard for the last two years.

Just think,if you had an old VW micro bus or a suburban....gut them out. That would be cool...a walk in dehydrator.

Shiloh

Just think,if you had an old VW micro bus or a suburban....gut them out. That would be cool...a walk in dehydrator.

There are people on this board who need to get a LIFE!!. . . like maybe stand-up comedy?

Some people have very active lives they just keep adding to them... I know I do.

GG

Some people have very active lives they just keep adding to them...

And some that just have wonderfully active imaginations. That's what I like about this community.

HPL

There are people on this board who need to get a LIFE!!. . . like maybe stand-up comedy?

Huh- I thought he was just being extremely pragmatic! And then I started coveting a walk in dehydrator...