Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
preserving short-lived berries, excess apples, or delicious summer plums and pears. It will replace
fruit rolls you buy in the grocery store that are laden with artificial flavors and food colorings.
Fruit Leather
Feel free to change this basic recipe any way you like. Apples make a great base for fruit
leather because they stay flexible when dried. Mix with other fruit, such as plums and rasp-
berries, to change the flavor, and experiment with the amount of sugar and spices according
to the fruit you use and your tastes.
Fresh fruit (about 8 cups chopped)
1 cup water
2 tsp. lemon juice
Sugar (amount will vary)
Spices of your choice, such as
cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice
(optional)
1. Remove stems, peels, and pits or seeds from fruit. Chop fruit flesh into small pieces.
Place fruit pieces into a large saucepan and add water. Bring to a slow simmer.
2. Let fruit simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until soft, and mash with a potato masher. Add
lemon juice to fruit; this ensures the color doesn't change during dehydration. Taste
fruit mixture and add sugar and spices (if using) to taste.
3. Allow fruit mixture to thicken for another 5 minutes or more, stirring to thoroughly
combine.
4. Run fruit mixture through a blender or food processor until perfectly smooth.
5. Pour fruit purée into the leather pan of your dehydrator in a layer
1
⁄
4
inch thick. Dry in
the dehydrator at about 140°F until you have a fruity roll-up texture, which will prob-
ably take 3 to 8 hours, depending on your model and the thickness of your fruit purée.
Test frequently to prevent overcooking.
6. Store fruit leathers rolled up on plastic wrap or wax paper. Store in airtight bags or totes
in the pantry and use as a sweet snack when ripe fruit isn't available.
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Making Jerky in a Dehydrator
Before refrigeration, jerky was a method of preserving meat when an animal was butchered, so
that nothing went to waste. In the wilderness you could eat as much of the meat freshly cooked as
possible, and then smoke-dry the rest of it in thin strips. The dehydrated meat would be less likely
