I remember as a kid absolutely LOVING fruit roll ups! Grape were my favorite but strawberry was a close second. Back in the 80’s we didn’t have the crazy flavors available today, but I digress.
In our ever growing journey to be self-sufficient and in turn more healthy, we wanted an alternative to fruit roll ups. While they were fun for us as kids, let’s be honest, it was a different time.
Besides just the general cost of everything, including groceries, growing by the minute, there is the overwhelming concern about what is being put into our food. Dyes and preservatives have become the enemy of the health of our babies. But not wanting to deprive Eva, we instead, get creative.
Introducing Fruit Leather! This is not a new idea and isn’t even ours, but we wanted to share it in hopes of helping the next family struggling to find healthy alternatives to all those brightly colored boxes of snacks filling the grocery aisles.
The best part about fruit leather is it’s versatility! You can quite literally make any flavor or combination of flavors you want! We can applesauce every year and have found it to be a great base for fruit leather. It’s just apples, no sugar, no preservatives, no artificial colors. Then we simply add whatever fruit juice we have canned (again with nothing else added) to adjust the flavor.
Today we made pear applesauce base with mixed berry juice (black raspberries, wine berries, and strawberries from our backyard) that we canned in 2021! We have also used pineapple juice, peach juice, and apple juice. Of course you can use juice from the store, we just prefer as natural as possible.
The process is really quite easy and Eva loves to help, which sometimes just translates into licking the bowl. You start by warming the applesauce on the stove. While it is warming, pour your preferred juice into the blender and slowly add your powdered pectin. We like Sure Jel. Blend for a couple of minutes then add to the applesauce and stir until warmed through. We like to add some honey if it needs some sweetness but also for the health benefits.
Once everything is combined and warmed through, spread an even layer on parchment paper on either a cookie sheet if dehydrating in the oven or on your dehydrator trays. Make sure to turn up the sides of the parchment paper so it doesn’t run off.
Then into the oven or dehydrator it goes for the majority of the day. Timing really depends on how thick your mixture is. You should keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t dry out too much, otherwise it will be brittle.
Once it’s the desired dryness, roll up the parchment paper, starting at the short end then cut in 1-2 inch slices. Leave them rolled up until it’s time to enjoy. We store ours in jars….well those that don’t get eaten right away. They stay good forever if properly dried!
You can also add fresh fruit to the applesauce base, it will just need to be pureed before adding to the applesauce.
Below please find the recipe with accurate measurements.
Ingredients:
4 cups applesauce
2 cups of fruit juice of your choice
2 tsp. powdered pectin
Honey to taste
Directions:
1. Add applesauce to a heavy bottomed sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Add fruit juice to blender and turn on low speed.
3. Slowly add powdered pectin and blend for approximately 2 minutes.
4. Prepare dehydrator/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
5. Once applesauce is warmed, add fruit juice/pectin mixture and stir for a full minute. Add honey to taste if needed.
6. Remove from heat and ladle warm mixture onto dehydrator trays/cookie sheets.
7. Dehydrate on low heat (110-115°). Start checking for doneness at 8 hours. This will vary depending on the thickness of your puree.
8. Roll parchment paper starting at the short end then cut into slices.
9. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
If using the oven, turn on lowest temperature setting and leave door cracked to vent.
These are so good and so much fun to make as a family! It’s also a lesson in patience, which, let’s face it, we can all use once in a while.
Enjoy!
RJ Homestead 
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