Blackberry And Apple Leather Food

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.

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.

BLACKBERRY APPLE FRUIT LEATHER

Steps:

• Over a large bowl or pan, add both ingredients to a food mill. Run the applesauce and berries through the food mill, until only the blackberry seeds remain.
• If you don't mind seeds in your fruit leather, simply add both ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on medium for about 3 minutes until blackberries are well blended into the sauce.
• Spread the mixed puree on the fruit leather trays for your dehydrator. (This recipe nicely fills three trays on my Nesco FD-61). For a good result, it's important to spread the puree evenly, with no thin or thick spots. Spreading it perfectly flat and even is the trick to perfect fruit leather!
• Dehydrate at 135 degrees for about 6-7 hours. Fruit leather will be done when it's fairly dry to the touch and feels like soft leather. It will be a bit glossy, and shouldn't leave any indent when you touch it.
• Allow to cool, then peel off dehydrator trays. You can easily tear it by hand, or for tidier strips, use scissors or kitchen shears to cut to the desired size.
• For OVEN drying, spread puree evenly onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Dry at 140 or the lowest temperature your oven allows. Timing will be less consistent than in a dehydrator, so start checking on it after a few hours, then keep checking every half hour til it's done. You'll be looking for the same signs of "done-ness" as with the dehydrator method.
• Store in air-tight container at room temperature for up to 1 month, or store tightly-sealed in the freezer for longer storage.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE LEATHER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to a very low setting - I use 140°F (approximately). Line two baking sheets, measuring about 10 by 12 inches, with parchment paper.
• Put the blackberries, apples, and lemon juice into a pan. Cook gently until soft and pulpy, about 20 minutes. Press the mixture through a sieve or food mill into a bowl; you should have about 1 1/2 pounds of fruit purée. Add the honey and mix well.
• Divide the purée between the two baking sheets. Spread it out lightly with the back of a spoon until the purée covers each sheet in a thin, even layer.
• Put the baking sheets in the oven for 12 to 18 hours, until the fruit purée is completely dry and easily peels off the parchment. Roll up the leather in parchment or waxed paper and store in an airtight container. Use within 5 months.
• VARIATION
• There is no end to the possible variations here-you can turn any fruit into a leather. All you need to do is create a smooth, thick purée with your chosen fruit before drying it out. Try plums, spicing the purée with a little cinnamon; or peaches, infusing them with a few honeysuckle blossoms as they cook. For a savory leather, use half apples and half tomatoes seasoned with 2 teaspoons of souper mix (p. 199) or celery salt.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE SMOOTHIE

Steps:

• Reserve three blackberries and put remainder into a blender or food processor. Add applesauce, yogurt and milk. Blend or process for 15 to 20 seconds until smooth.
• Pour into a glass and decorate with reserved blackberries and mint.

BLACKBERRY AND APPLE LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan160C/gas4. Butter and line the bottom of a medium loaf tin (approx 1.7 litre capacity.) Put the flour, butter and sugar in a large bowl and rub together with your fingers so they look like fine buttery crumbs.
• Measure out 5 level tablspoons for the topping and tip into a small bowl adding in the cinnamon and demerara sugar. Put this to one side.
• Coarsely grate the apple (skin too) down to the cores. Beat the eggs and mix in the orange zest and grated apple. Stir the baking powder into the rubbin-in mixture in the large bowl. Quickly and lightly stir in the egg mixture until it drops lightly from the spoon. Don't over-mix.
• Finally, gently fold in just under three-quartes of the blackberries with a metal spoon, being careful not to break them up too much. Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and level off. Scatter the rest of the blackberries over the top. Now sprinkle the topping over and bake for about 1 1.2 hours, checking after about 50 minutes. If too brown, cover with foil. Test with a skewer - push it into the cake mixture, not a blackberry.
• Leave the cake in the tin for at least 30 minutes before turning out. Then leave to cool on a wire rack.