Fruit Leather help

[daisy]

How do YOU make fruit leather? Do you cook it up like jam, then dry it? Do you sweeten it? What fruit combinations do you like? How do you store it?

I just put the fresh fruit through the food processor until nice and mushy, then pour onto a greased, wax-paper-lined shallow tray, then put in the oven at lowest possible temperature, with door ajar, for around 12 hours or so until the mixture is dry and not too sticky.

Would love some interesting and unusual ideas for fruit leather. Anyone made grape leather? Or mango leather? I want to make purple grape leather, but am a bit concerned with having to get rid of all the seeds!

 

[Ishbel]

Daisy
Here's the only fruit leather that I've made - I use it for dunking into a good home-made custard, a rhubarb fool or a blancmange! I hadn't even thought about using other fruits.

500g rhubarb trimmed weight), cut into 2cm chunks
300g caster sugar
2-3 tbsp Grenadine liqueur
Put the rhubarb in a saucepan. Heat gently until it starts to release its juices. Add the sugar and continue to cook gently until the sugar has dissolved Raise the heat and simmerfor 15 to 20 minutes, until the rhubarb is very soft and all excess liquid has evaporated. Let the mixture cool a little and then blitz in a food processor to a thick purée. Add just enough Grenadine to give a subtle pink colour. The mixture should be as thick as lightly whipped cream


Preheat the oven to its lowest setting (ideally around 80°C). Cover 2 baking sheets with non-stick foil. Spread the purée in an even layer across the sheets, to the thickness of a pound coin. Dry in the oven for six hours, or overnight, until firm and pliable with no sticky spots.
Peel the leather from the foil and cut into squares or triangles. Store in an airtight container until required.