Recipe for Fruit Leather + Advice on Dehydrators

Here is the recipe for my favourite fruit leather.

4 cups frozen blueberries

4 cups frozen raspberries

6 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

Put the above ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat until the fruit is soft. (You may add a little water if you need to.) Let cool. Blend in blender until smooth.

Add 2 large jars of applesauce and mix.

Pour onto fruit leather sheets about 1/4 inch thick. Dry in a dehydrator. (Time will vary by machine but mine takes about 10 hours.) Peel off the sheets. If desired, cover with cornstarch, arrowroot or icing sugar to prevent them from sticking together. Cut and store in Ziploc bags or vacuum seal. These may be stored in the fridge or freezer indefinitely but they can also be kept unrefrigerated for up to one year. They never last that long at our house...

I use a Nesco American Harvest dehydrator, available from Home Hardware stores in Canada.  (Home Hardware in Kanata on Eagleson has a selection and spare parts.)  The model I have is called Snackmaster Encore and is basic and not too expensive.  The new models (including mine) have the motor on the top so that the bottom is easy to clean.  Better models (including mine) allow you to set the temperature and this is recommended.  You can obtain extra trays and leather sheets so that you may dry a larger amount of food at one time.

A handy device to go along with a dehydrator is a vacuum sealer.  I bought mine at Walmart.  Seal-a-meal is recommended.

A good book to read for more information is Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator Cookbook.  I bought it from Amazon in the States.

I have not yet tried dehydrating meat & fish but I've tried most other things.  Corn, peas, apples, onions, and fruit leather have been dehydrated most often at our house.

Karen H.