I’ve seen plenty of recipes for fruit leather using very low temperatures in a traditional oven. But I freed myself from having to fool around with that when I bought myself a refurbished food dehydrator for Mother’s Day a couple years ago.
I find myself using the machine more during the summer and the fall when we are suddenly surrounded by fresh local produce. And since we’re on the go so much more during the summer, I’m sure we’ll have no problem using up whatever I can find time to make.
There is a great deal of flexibility in this recipe. I’ve used all different kinds of berries along with the applesauce.
2 cups unsweetened applesauce, preferably organic*
1 pint fresh strawberries, preferably organic*
Lightly grease two dehydrator tray liners and place them on trays. (My trays are 15-inches square. You may need more or less trays if your machine isn’t a similar size.) Set aside.
Wash and hull the strawberries. Combine strawberries and applesauce in a medium mixing bowl. Puree the mixture with an immersion/hand blender until smooth.
Transfer half of the mixture to each prepared tray and spread it out evenly with the back of a spoon until it is approximately 1/4-inch thick. A large offset spatula might do an even better job of spreading.
Place trays in dehydrator for 4-20 hours depending on the machine, thickness of puree, etc. Set temperature to 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Mine only takes about 5 hours at this temperature. Rotate the trays a couple times if you think of it.
When the puree has dried completely (I always seem to have one stubborn thick spot.) remove it from the tray and cut it into 2-inch wide strips. Layer strips with wax paper and store in an airtight bag or container. The roll ups, if completely dry, will keep for months.
Yield: 13 2 x 12-inch strips
Prep-time: 10 minutes
Dehydration-time: 4-20 hours
*Note: I encourage using organic ingredients in this recipe because the food, along with any pesticides it may contain, is concentrated by the process of dehydration. At least, that’s what I read somewhere once. I’m not entirely sure if it’s really an issue.
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10:13 pm on July 12th, 2010
I sold my dehydrator years ago and am now wishing I hadn’t! My kids BEG me for fruit roll-ups all the time and I hate to buy them…I did find some called Simply Fruit which are better on the sugar side of things but these look great!
12:10 am on July 13th, 2010
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11:43 am on July 13th, 2010
These are beautiful! We’ve just started making these — I always overbuy fruit at the farmer’s market, and it’s been nice to salvage the excess this way. My jaded 6-year-old is unhappy that I can’t stamp images on the roll-ups, but he’ll get over it. Hopefully.
12:48 pm on July 13th, 2010
Is there an oven alternative for this for those of us that don’t have dehydrators? These look great and surprisingly easy. Thanks! Maureen
9:53 pm on July 18th, 2010
love this… just another nudge for me to purchase my own dehydrator… beautiful post
11:07 am on July 20th, 2010
Maureen, I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve seen recipes for fruit leather that use the oven. They say to bake it at a super low temp (150 F) for several hours or until it has dried out. My oven doesn’t go any lower than 200 degrees F, but I’ve dried things like the Apple Crisp Cookies in it successfully.
5:43 pm on July 24th, 2010
My food dehydrator has slots. Can you put wax paper down in it? How do you prevent it from going through the holes?
8:42 pm on July 24th, 2010
I sprang for a few liners when I bought my dehydrator. But I feel like I’ve seen recipes that call for plastic wrap. Maybe aluminum foil would work (but it would heat up so I’m not sure if that would yield something different). Wax paper would probably be my last choice because I’d be scared the coating would melt into the fruit mixture if it got hot enough.
Sorry I can’t be of more help.
7:09 pm on August 16th, 2010
[...] commented on my Homemade Strawberry Fruit Rolls Upspost that her kid is less than happy with the lack of stamped images on her homemade fruit roll [...]
1:49 pm on September 3rd, 2010
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7:40 pm on October 3rd, 2010
My family is living in New Zealand for 6 months and we have 2 children in school here. My 5 year old has “fruit time” every morning at about 10. They also wear no shoes in the classroom and also run crosscountry barefoot if they want. Thanks for the good idea, I’m always looking for good snacks in the US.
12:26 pm on July 6th, 2011
[...] Strawberry Fruit Roll-Up (from Fix me a Snack) [...]
9:19 pm on December 7th, 2012
I made deer jerky for the first time. It is so good. I am making candy apple chips right now and I plan on doing applesauce and apple butter. Thank you or your tips on how to make awesome snacks :)