Apricot Leather Food

APRICOT LEATHER

Steps:

• Place apricots in a small saucepan and cover with water by 1 in. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and cool slightly., Place apricots in a blender; add sugar. Cover and process until smooth. Add extract., Preheat oven to 175°. Line two 15x10x1-in. baking pans with silicone baking mats. Spoon half of apricot mixture onto each baking mat, spreading to form a 12x8-in. rectangle; repeat with remaining fruit. Bake 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until almost dry to the touch. Cool completely on a wire rack., Transfer to a cutting board; dust both sides with confectioners' sugar. Cut into 1/2x8-in. strips; roll up. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

APRICOT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F (165 degrees C), or the lowest setting you have.
• Combine the lemon juice, apricots and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.
• Cover an 11x17 inch pan or cookie sheet with a layer of plastic wrap. Pour the pureed fruit onto the plastic and spread evenly to within 1 inch of the edge.
• Bake for 4 to 6 hours in the preheated oven, using a spoon or a pair of tongs to keep the door slightly ajar, or until the puree has dried and is no longer sticky. Once dry, you can cut it into strips and store in an airtight container.

FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Cover a baking sheet with a layer of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
• In the container of a blender, combine the sugar, lemon juice, apple and pear. Cover and puree until smooth. Spread evenly on the prepared pan. Place the pan on the top rack of the oven.
• Bake for 5 to 6 hours, leaving the door to the oven partway open. Fruit is dry when the surface is no longer tacky and you can tear it like leather. Roll up on the plastic wrap and store in an airtight jar.

APRICOT FRUIT LEATHER ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees with rack in center. Place apricots in a large bowl, and cover with the water; let soak until they are completely soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve; drain, and reserve liquid.
• Place apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade; add honey and sugar. Process until mixture is very smooth and easily spreadable. If it is too thick, add up to 1 tablespoon soaking liquid.
• Cover two 10-by-15-inch baking sheets with plastic wrap. Divide puree between the sheets; spread in a thin, even layer with an offset spatula. Let dry in oven until mixture is firm but slightly tacky, about 8 hours or overnight. Remove from oven; let cool.
• Peel fruit leather from plastic wrap, and cut into 1-inch-wide strips using a pizza cutter. Roll tightly into cylinders, and serve.

APRICOT LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F. and oil a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• Pit apricots and coarsely chop. In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook apricots and sugar over moderate heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cook mixture at a bare simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 40 minutes more. In a blender purée mixture until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). Transfer purée to baking pan and spread evenly over bottom.
• Dry purée in middle of oven until it feels drier but slightly tacky, about 1 hour. Cool leather completely in pan on a rack.
• Peel leather out of pan and roll up in wax paper. Leather keeps, wrapped in plastic wrap, at cool room temperature 1 month.

FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Tip the strawberries and apple into a saucepan. Put the pan over a low heat, you don't need to add any water. If you've used frozen fruit, juice will run out as they thaw. Heat gently, keeping an eye on the pan until the strawberries start to break down, you can put a lid on the pan if you like, this keeps the steam in and helps the fruit break down. Cook until the strawberries have softened and given up their juice and the apple is soft.
• Take the pan off the heat. Purée the contents with a stick blender or in a food processor. Squeeze the purée through a sieve into a clean pan, pushing as much pulp through as possible.
• Put the pan back on a low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the purée thickens enough to leave a clear patch on the base of the pan when you pull a spoon through it. The more moisture you drive off now, the shorter your drying time will be.
• Heat the oven to as low as it will go. Pour the purée onto a lined baking sheet (we use a reusable silicone tray liner) and spread it out to a thin layer, the purée should be thick enough to look opaque.
• Put the tray in the oven and dry until the surface is no longer tacky when you touch it, but the leather is still flexible - don't overcook it or it will turn brittle. This will take several hours depending on the oven temperature. If it is very hot and sunny you can air-dry the leather, or use a dehydrator.
• Leave the leather to cool to warm and then peel it carefully off the tray. Trim off the raggedy edges. Roll the leather up, then cut the roll into sections, using scissors is easiest. Each of these will unroll to make a strip. Keep the strips individually wrapped and airtight. The offcuts can be chopped up and used in baking, or snacked on.