If you have been a kid in America or had one of your own, then you’ve likely come across Fruit Roll-ups. However, these fun, easy snacks go back much further than these brightly colored, plastic-wrapped goodies. It is thought that inhabitants in the Middle East found that if fresh fruit was boiled, pureed, and dried, it could be kept for a year. Fruit leathers have also been described in other Middle Eastern and Persian vintage cookbooks.
Nowadays, there are many recipes for making healthy versions of fruit leather at home. These recipes call for organically cultivated fruit and the substitution of honey for artificial additives, processed sugar, or added vitamins. On the other hand, commercially-made fruit leathers tend to be made up of one-third of fruit puree and two-thirds of additives or sweeteners.
Continue reading for a few of the benefits of homemade fruit leather. (As well as simple tips for making your own healthy fruit leather at home!)
Benefits of Home-Made Fruit Leather
- Nutritionally Beneficial: This method of drying and preserving fruit also keeps the nutrients intact rather than destroying them. Dried fruits are high in fiber, minerals, phosphorus, calcium, and iron, among other nutrients. This increased nutrient content protects one’s health and helps our bodies combat weariness and other health issues.
- Digestive Support: Fruit leather is made out of natural fibers that provide various health benefits, including helping with digestion. It also cleanses the digestive system and helps to prevent conditions like constipation and bladder difficulties. It can even benefit the skin by eliminating toxins from the body, enhancing skin health.
- Weight Loss: When it comes to reducing excess weight, dried fruits are a terrific alternative to sugar or carb-loaded snacks. To begin with, the fiber component of various fruits has the effect of making you feel fuller for more extended periods. Another advantage of using fruit leather is that it is considered a healthy choice when you have a sweet tooth. You’ll be on your way to a healthy weight loss if you can keep your carb and sugar intake under control.
- Flavor Choice: If you are making your fruit leathers, you can pick the exact flavors in which you want to make them! Strawberry-grape? Sure! Lemon and grapefruit? A little odd, but we won’t judge!
- Healthier Options: Because you know everything going into your fruit leathers, you can also make healthier options on your base ingredients. Use fresh produce instead of frozen. And steer clear of added sweeteners to ensure that your fruit leathers are as healthy as possible.
- Environmentally Friendly: We don’t often see fruit as bad for the environment, but still, having a lot of leftover fruits lying around does no one good. Cutting up and drying this excess fruit can save it from going into the landfill or otherwise being tossed out rather than being used.
Simple Tips For Making Your Own Fruit Leather At Home
- Thickness is everything when it comes to fruit leathers! If you lay down too thin a layer, you will get something closer to fruit chips instead, but it will take longer to set and bake thoroughly if your layers are too thick.
- Check your oven temperature often! Various recipes will call for different temperatures and times, and each oven will react differently. Remember, if you leave the fruit leather in too long, then you’ll wind up with something closer to actual leather.
- Pick fruits that are in season. They are more likely to be at the peak of freshness and retain their natural sweetness and nutrients.
- Ensure that you dry the fruit leathers completely. If not, the leather may be sticky, which can cause issues during the storing process.
- Fruit leathers last about a month at room temperature but can also be stored for up to a year if tightly rolled and placed in the freezer.
Ready to save money and eat a little healthier? Homemade fruit leathers are a healthy, cheap, and long-lasting alternative to commercial options. And they’re easily made with little more than some fresh fruit, honey, and something to dry the fruit out. Let us know how your fruit leather making adventure goes!
At Ethical, we care about doing things the right way, where materials come from, and how we treat the earth matter, as does making sure every product that comes through our fingers is ethical from supply to production, to packaging and delivery.
Take care,
Team Ethical
