(no subject)

[camwyn]

And the apple leather batch I started two nights ago is finally done. this is what happens when you start cutting up apples at 10 PM and don't know if the dehydrator fan will wake the downstairs neighbor or not; you cook the apples to tenderness in water and cider vinegar, then use a potato masher, then spend a dog's age smooshing the things through a plastic colander until you finally give up on getting any more apple pulp, then you mix it with honey and spices and pour it all out on parchment on the dehydrator trays and stick it in the fridge as-is because it's past midnight and you don't want to wake the neighbor up. and then when you get home the next evening, even though you run the dehydrator clear from six to midnight, you still have squishy stickiness and have to put the batch in the fridge AGAIN because neighbor.

But after a few more hours on day two, you get some seriously excellent homemade apple leather, and it is worth it.

I'm getting a set of Teflon racks for making more fruit leather in future in the dehydrator. This is my third batch and cutting parchment paper to do the job is getting messy fast. I like to make the stuff and the people at work love it, and my sister's kids apparently like fruit roll-ups so I'll be taking some of this with me to see if they like it. I intend to make more in future, regularly, so I think this is probably worth it. Next time I've got to finish up the kiwis in the fridge- I don't like them raw, but they make good leather- and probably the pears, and then we'll see. Maybe berries again. maybe bananas. Either way, should be good.

Comments

[jothra]

That sounds awesome! I am very impressed with your drying experiments. We never had a dehydrator, and it's way too humid up here to do anything but dry hot peppers. And even those go bad sometimes.

[camwyn]

I'll be making jerky again sometime soon, the biltong-style kind rather than meat chopped up and mixed with spices and laid down in a paste. I developed a taste for the stuff some time ago and the kind in stores is expensive and tastes rather weird due to all the stuff it's soaked in. The fruit leather is an added bonus. I may also just cut up the pears I have in the fridge and dry the pieces as is- I like the concentrated flavor of dried fruit pieces, and they make convenient snacks.

One day I may try canning, but for now, this seems like a decent way to preserve food.

[jothra]

Canning is easy, if you pick your ingredients right! Pressure canning is a little scarier, but still easy if you follow the steps. That, I have plenty of experience with.

[kyrielle]

I remember mom making fruit leather, but hers just sat and air-dried. On top of the wardrobe on the back porch, so the cats wouldn't jump on it.

Took for-EV-er.

[camwyn]

The blackberry-and-maple leather took four hours in the dehydrator. The kiwi-and-pear-and-honey took about five. I think the apple took ten+ hours in the dehydrator plus time in the fridge because when I cooked up the apples beforehand, I added three cups of liquid to the fruit, as opposed to a couple of tablespoons with the pears. The dehydrator had to overcome all of that.

Worth it, though.