Homemade peach fruit leather

THE PERFECT WAY TO ENJOY PEACHY PLEASURE OUT OF SEASON!

It’s hard to improve on the simple perfection and deliciousness of a peach, but, if you’re experiencing abundance, there’s nothing that will get the kids more excited than a batch of fruit leather made in the Breeze Food Dehydrator. It has a similar texture and taste as sugar confectionary but it is simply guilt-free, pure, concentrated, fruit goodness. With no nasties. This method is close to raw and has nothing more than, straight-up 100% peach, making them a great healthy snack for instant energy.

If you’re familiar with the boxed kind, then you might be rightfully wary. Store-bought fruit leather or fruit roll-ups are a scary concoction of sugars, fillers, preservatives, artificial colours and flavours and, marketing aside, far from what nature intended.

Peaches are seriously good for you, being both vitamin and mineral rich. A long slow dehydration will preserve the nutrients but transform the texture into stretchy, chewy, bendy fruit candy. Kids will go mad for this stuff! Trust me, no added sweetener is needed. So really, there’s no reason to ever consider the boxed brands when making your own is so insanely simple! 

SKIN OR NO SKIN?

We chose to leave the peach skin on for added nutrition and fibre. Blending the fruit, skin and all, in the Vibe Blender renders the skins unnoticeable. But the decision is yours. Removing the skin may be preferable if using conventional store-bought fruit. Unless you know the source or are using organic, peaches are typically sprayed with pesticides. In any case, thoroughly wash the fruit beforehand to be sure the skins are clean.

WATCH HOW IT'S DONE HERE 

INGREDIENTS

Cling-stone peaches. (As a guide 4 peaches fill 4 x Luvele silicon roll up sheets.) 

METHOD

1.   Thoroughly wash the peaches.
2.   Cut away the peach flesh as close to the stone as possible then cut into small pieces.
3.   Fill the blender jug with pieces of peach and then blend until you have a smooth puree.
4.   Lay the Luvele silicon roll-up sheets into the dehydrator trays.
5.   Pour the peach puree into the silicon trays.
6.   Use a spatula to spread the puree to the edges of the tray. Aim for an even and consistent coverage. For best results, fill the trays to capacity. 

7.   Set the Breeze food dehydrator temperature to 50ºC (120 ºF) and the time to 12 hours. If the leather feels tacky to touch leave it on for another hour or two. 
As the peach puree dehydrates it may crack in places. Don’t worry, this is normal. It will still lift out of the tray in one piece when fully dehydrated.

8.  When the peach leather is done, let it cool to room temperature before trying to peel it off the trays. Carefully peel back the fruit leather - if it is completely dehydrated it will peel off easily. Take it slowly because small, denser pockets of fruit can remain tacky and stick in places.
9.  Lay the fruit leather on a chopping board and slice into strips. Kitchen scissors work well too.
10.  Store the fruit leather in an air-tight glass jar at room temperature for up to a month. To enjoy peachy treats mid- winter, store in the freezer for up to 1 year.

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