[madcat]

Does anyone make them as a way of storing fruit for the winter?

What do you use them for?  The idea is attractive for gluts but what would I do with them when I had made them?   

[arugula]

I haven't made them madcat, but one use I understand for them is as a handy portable snack. Being dry it probably transports more easily than a fresh apple, banana or pear, for instance.

[Madame Cholet]

they are a chewy strip of fruit which you eat as a snack, i've used plums, blackberry and apple and hedgerow (same reciepe as th jam with sugar)I eat loads of them. tend to roll them up and store in a plastic container apple rings are good dried to i've got a load hanging over the stove.

love to make rasberry or cherry but my bushes and trees are too small for a surplus

[madcat]

Are they lunch box friendly then?  That is the main use for snacky stuff here ....

[arugula]

That's what I gather madcat.

[Jamie Butterworth]

I dried some of the apple glut this year, not quite sure if its the same thing as leathers but they tasted good as snacks

[arugula]

Its not the same thing Jamie. Fruit leathers are pureed fruit which is spread out thin then dried. I'm sure your dried apples were lovely though.

[Jamie Butterworth]

Oh, you learn something new everyday

[madcat]

I happened across a river cottage short about them  and wondered ...  our soft fruit patch is only just coming into production and I still have more in the freezer than I know what to do with so next year I'll think about these.  I was thinking if I presented them as small rolls,each in a twist of greaseproof, they might look man-lunchbox-friendly and not too uncool???  Jamie - you are a better judge than me of young man cool!

[Jamie Butterworth]

They definetley sound cool, they sound a lot like them fruit winders

[madcat]

Well, you learn something every day.     I had never heard of fruit winders before ....  geeks are (pun alert) terminally uncool.  But a bit of poking around on google and yeh, that's the start of them.  Joray Fruit Rolls were the first fruit rollup - a proper leather - and it went from there into big manufacturing.  Must be cool!   

[michellela]

The fruit leathers sounds great, though I've never had any I would like to try it.

I've heard bad things about fruit winders from a friend who said their daughter had them and they were messy and VERY sticky.  Having just looked them up online I see that they are over 47% pure sugar, contain hydrogenated vegetable oil and are stuffed with other additives.  I'd imagine your homemade fruit leather would be MUCH MUCH better than this.

[madcat]

once you put a craft item into mass manufacture and marketing ...   

But then that is why we grow our own.      but lunch boxes still have to be acceptable and not too weird.  Sounds like I could find a good half way house between healthy and branded here.   

[Madame Cholet]

They can be a bit sticky to eat,I roll them up to store/eat and take them in a pack up Some of mine have sugar added like the hedge row which is really sour otherwise, but the blackberry and apple is fine without. There are no other additives with home made ones the drying is the presevering.

I reduce mine in a pan until its really thick then taste for sweetness before pouring in a tray lined with oiled clingfilm.

You can buy fruit snacks at the healthfood shops which have no additives the're about 50p each though. about 1lb fruit makes 4

I've found receipies for differnt favours with added spices hrubarb and ginger ect on the net if you want to be more adventurous

[Lillibet]

Rachelk, Just wondered how long it takes your fruit leather to dry? What sort of quantities of fruit are you using?

I've often thought about making fruit leather / fruit gums to use up some of the fruit I have stored in the freezer. All the recipes I found on the internet suggested drying it in a cool oven for 24 hours+ or use a dehydrator. This put me off the idea.

If you have a recipe though I would very much appreciate it. Thanks.

Lil