I can't wait to show you how to dehydrate fruit rolls! Create nutritious snacks that young and old alike enjoy munching on.
Fruit rolls (also known as fruit leathers, and fruit roll-ups—no, not those hard candies!) are easy to make and cost less
than any fruit leathers bought in a store! (Plus you know what's in 'em - as we don't add preservatives that you can't pronounce!)
Check out this brief history of fruit rolls courtesy of Wikipedia, then come on back here.
Top Question: Make a fruit leather with dehydrator?
Please read the information on this page!
Fruit leather with no added sugar?
Here are some tips for making tasty fruit leather with no added sugar:
Choose Naturally Sweet Fruit:
Go for fruits like mango, pineapple, banana, figs, applesauce, etc, which have enough natural sugars to set up the leather. Berries and tart fruits may need a touch of sweetness, though.
Boost Flavor with Spices: Cinnamon, vanilla, almond extract, lemon or orange zest add flavor without sugar. Or try ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg combos.
Use Vegetable or Fruit Juice for Liquid: Thin out thicker purées with 100% juices like apple, white grape, pear, or carrot instead of water. Adds sweetness back in.
Include Dried Fruits: Chop or purée nutrient-dense dried fruits like raisins, dates, cherries, or apricots into the mix. Work especially well in leathers with some tartness.
Sweeten with Alternatives: For a light touch of sweetness, minimal amounts of maple syrup, honey, molasses, or stevia can be used instead of plain sugar.
Keep it Thin:
Spread fruit purées thinner over dehydrator sheets - less than 1/4 inch. Thinner leathers dry faster. See my TIP about how to spread your fruit mix properly for best drying HERE.
With the right fruit combos and a flavor boost from added spices and herbs, it's easy to achieve enough sweetness in a reduced-sugar fruit leather! Play with proportions as desired by taste-testing before smoothing out your purée on the sheets.
Mother's Day Specials!
Make fruit rolls from fresh fruits or any leftover
fruits. Sweeten them if desired by adding cinnamon to an apple and
pear mix. Yummy! See more ideas in the FAQ section at the top of the page.
For added sweetness for fruit rolls when using tart fruits: for each quart of purée, add one or two tablespoons of honey or corn syrup—whichever is on hand in your pantry—and taste-test 'til your taste buds are happy!
Note: adding regular sugar to fruit rolls can make them become brittle when in storage. Select a fruit combination for a fruit leather that will appeal to you and your kids!
For example, bananas and pineapples make a tasty combination. How about strawberries with rhubarb, or pineapple and cranberry?
It's always best to use fresh fruit for your fruit rolls while it's in season and plentiful—i.e. cheaper.
Don't forget you can also use overripe fruits or those misshapen, bruised fruits, too.
This is a perfect USE for those 'imperfect' fruits! (I'll never tell!)
You can use canned fruits too while dehydrating fruit rolls. Simply drain off the excess liquid first (in a sieve, in the sink) then put the fruit in the blender and away you go.
You can even use frozen fruits, but be aware that these may be a little thinner in consistency after puréeing.
To combat a too-runny consistency, let the frozen fruit come to room temperature first, allowing excess water/juice to drain off naturally (in the sink, in a sieve).
If it's still too runny, add an apple to the mix!
To make the fruit rolls, purée the fruit in your blender and by spreading it thinly onto your food dehydrator's special sheets created just for this purpose.
Hamilton Beach® Power Elite 58148
Table Top Blender
Ninja® Professional Blender (BL660)
KitchenAid® 5-speed with PBA-Free Pitcher
Hamilton Beach® Wave Crusher Blender
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If you're not using (or don't have) the Nesco fruit roll sheets, simply lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the trays to make your own drip-proof sheets!
NOTE: Make SURE to cut out the center hole in the plastic wrap so that the air can circulate if you're using a Nesco dehydrator or similar style dehydrator. (I do highly recommend using the sheets though).
When spreading out the puréed fruit, make sure the center portion of the tray's contents is a little thinner than the outer edges.
The outer edges tend to dry out faster.
NOTE: When using two Nesco dehydrator fruit roll trays, I used two large apples and 4 pears. This is to give you a rough idea of how much fruit to use for two sheets.
I also added extra dehydrator trays in between the two fruit roll trays as Nesco recommends using NO LESS than four trays at a time for proper air circulation.
Read more about NESCO dehydrators here.
Carefully lift the leather off the solid sheet. You WILL get better with practice!
I hope you enjoyed learning how to dehydrate fruit rolls. Please feel free to send photos of your creations by contacting us here. Thanks!