How to Make Fruit Roll ups

I thought we had used up all of our nectarines in our recent canning spree, but Scott walked in the backdoor yesterday with another basket full (the last of them). Hmmm, what to do with them? I thought I’d try my hand at fruit leather, or fruit roll ups, again. Nectarines are a perfect candidate for making fruit roll ups because they aren’t as juicy as peaches so they dry faster. Plus I like their tangy flavor.

I had tried making fruit leather in the past and was never very satisfied with my results, but I think I got it right this time. Here’s how I did it:

Pit the nectarines and place in a pot. Turn the heat to medium/high and mash the fruit with a potato masher. You can add sugar at this point if you like, but I chose not to for this batch since the nectarines were pretty ripe already. Bring the fruit to a boil for about 15-20 minutes. Blend (carefully–it’s hot!) with an immersion blender.

Once the fruit reaches a jam like consistency, spread it onto parchment lined cookie sheets.

Place in oven and turn the temperature to the lowest setting. Once the oven reaches temperature, then turn it off. You may have to keep turning the heat on and off for the next two or so hours until the fruit has become tacky to the touch.

Once it’s cooled, roll it up in the parchment paper and slice it into one and a half inch lengths. Store your homemade fruit rollups in an air tight container.

You can use the sun to dry the leather, but you will need a breathable cover such as cheese cloth to spread over it. Or else you’ll get bug and lint covered leather (that’s what happened with a previous batch, not so tasty!). I’ve found that even in our arid climate it takes a few days to dry, which is why I went the easy route and used the oven.

Overall, it was an easy process and I would totally recommend trying it if you are overloaded in fruit.

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