Strawberry Fruit Leather

Strawberries are delicious fruits that can be relished in various ways. Apart from consuming them raw, you may use them for making desserts, milk shakes, smoothies and the list will be unending. One of the much-loved strawberry preparations is strawberry fruit leather. Though, fruit leather can be made with various fruit types, for strawberry lovers, it could be a real treat, especially for kids. You may also preserve strawberries in this way.

• In order to prepare this recipe, you require one kg of fresh strawberries and six tablespoons of honey. Remove the green portion of the fruits (that are easily detachable) and cut the fruits into halves.
• Now, put the fruit halves in the food processor and run the machine till you get a smooth puree. It will take around 2-3 minutes for making strawberry puree.

• Once done, strain the puree, so as to extract the maximum amount of pulp as well as juice. Now, take a saucepan and heat this strawberry puree in a saucepan.
• As the mixture boils, reduce the heat and cook over low heat for about 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure to stir the mixture occasionally. The mixture will be glossy in nature.

• Remove the pan from heat and mix honey. Heat the oven to 170°F and position the rack in the center of the oven. Take a large baking sheet and line it with a nonstick baking liner.
• Pour cooked strawberry puree onto the baking sheet and spread it uniformly (with a thickness of around 1/8 inches). Make sure the edges are thicker, so as to prevent over drying.

• Allow the puree to dry out inside the oven, till it gets leathery in texture. It will take around seven hours for the puree to reach that consistency.
• But, if the oven is in the convection mode, you can take out the leather within 3-4 hours. Make sure to rotate the baking sheet at least once during the drying period.

• As per this recipe, you need around two and a half cups of hulled and halved fresh strawberries.
• Take a saucepan and boil the chopped strawberries in it with a small amount of water and a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Allow the strawberries to cook for around 5-7 minutes.

• Remove from heat and let it cool, before making its puree using a food processor.
• Once the cooked strawberries turn to a smooth puree, add enough sugar, as needed.
• Now, preheat the oven to 170°F and line a baking sheet with nonstick liner.
• Spread the puree over the baking sheet and place it on the center rack of the oven. Let the puree dry for around 7-8 hours.

• After that, take out the baking sheet and let the strawberry fruit leather cool for a few hours.
• Once done, you can invert the leather on another parchment paper and remove the earlier one.
• Cut the leather into strips and store them in plastic bags.

If you are a hardcore fruit leather lover, try these recipes. You may also try to make fruit leather with other fruits as well. So, why wait? Get some strawberries and start the task of preparing homemade strawberry fruit leather.