[Durgan]

3 February 2012 Dehydrated Fruit Leather. 3 February 2012 Dehydrated Fruit Leather.
The Excalibur Dehydrator was received,(3900W Excalibur Dehydrator-9 Tray Large White) and my first attempt at making fruit leather was undertaken. Fruit was purchased from the local Supermarket, since this is off season for my area. The fruit was washed and seeds removed. The desired parts were put through a Champion Juicer to remove as much liquid as possible. The portion for making the leather was homogenized using a hand blender, then spread evenly on the dehydrator trays., divided into portions, and sprayed with ascorbic acid to assist in retaining colour of the fruit.Fruit was placed in the Excalibur Dehydrator. The dehydrator set to 135F (57C)for 8 hours for a beginning.The liquid removed by the Champion Juicer is excellent.

After the top of the leather is dry, (about four hours) it is flipped over and placed on the more open sheet to facilitate drying. Drying is difficult,since there is no air movement on the underside of the leather. The upper most side was sprayed with ascorbic acid and water solution.

The fruit leather sheets are plastic supplied by the manufacturer of the dehydrator. I will get some parchment paper for experimenting when the next effort is undertaken. The leather drying sheet must be solid to prevent dripping of the thick liquid material, when first applied.

The finished product is slightly tart and is reasonably flexible.Time taken to dehydrate about eight hours. For longer term storage probably another two hours would make the slices completely dry.

 

[Durgan]

4 February 2012 Fruit Leather. Apple, Pear Pineapple 4 February 2012 Fruit Leather. Apple, Pear Pineapple
New ingredients were purchased to make fruit leather. Apple, Pear and half a Pineapple. The fruit was juiced to remove moisture, mixed and dehydrated at 57C for about six hours.The juice is excellent. The end product is most pleasant, relatively sweet, a bit flexible. Hopefully, it will be a nutritional snack replacement for children. If lemon is added the taste is too tart for young palates. The end product was stored in a vacuum sealed jar and a plastic vacuum sealed bag.

 

[Durgan]

5 February 2012 Dehydrating fruit and making fruit leather 5 February 2012 Dehydrating fruit and making fruit leather.
Peaches, plums, banana, Kiwi, and squash were purchased to make fruit leather.The squash was chosen to add more fibre, and was cooked in the microwave.All the fruit was washed and cut into pieces, then made into a slurry with the hand blender. The slurry was spread on the dehydrator sheets.

The upper surface was sprayed with ascorbic acid, about a tablespoon in a litre of water to enhance fruit colour. The sheets were placed in the dehydrator at 57C for about ten hours. Time is determined by monitoring the product periodically.The end product should be dry and slightly flexible, subjective to some degree.

The finished product is vacuum packed to store at room temperature, and may be placed in the refrigerator for longer term storage. This process is another method of preserving produce.The overall objective is to reduce dependence on commercial processed food, and to make nourishing snacks. The effort is experimental to get prepared for home production, during the Summer garden season. With practice the finished product will eventually be standard size, and a pleasing appearance.

 

[Durgan]

6 February 2012. Finalizing Method of Producing Fruit Leather 6 February 2012. Finalizing Method of Producing Fruit Leather

Fruit leather was made, finalizing the method. It turned out perfectly. Thirty dollars of produce was purchased. It was washed, made into a slurry using the hand blender and counter blender. An acorn squash, cooked, was added to increase the fibre content. The slurry was placed on the solid sheet, sprayed with ascorbic acid about one tablespoon in a litre of water, and placed in the dehydrator, set to 57C for 12 hours.The leather was removed from the solid sheets, which was effortless, at about 8 hours, and place on the open mesh sheets to improve drying and further dehydrated. Completion was determined subjectively upon checking periodically. The leather was vacuum packed for storage, some in plastic, and some in a jar. This is the final testing effort and the method will be used in the Summer, when abundant produce is in season.

 

[Durgan]

Fruit Jerky

11 February 2012 Fruit Jerky. 11 February 2012 Fruit Jerky.

Six 14 by 14 inch sheets of fruit jerky, (leather) was made to cost out the product. Each sheet was cut into edible pieces of 4.5 by 1.75 and the cost per small piece is 26 cents for the produce alone.

Produce used was; Frozen cranberries, apple, pears, carrot, orange, peach, pineapple, plum, squash, strawberry. Cost was $37.53.

The squash was cooked for five minutes in the microwave, and the other produce was used raw. All was beat in its own juice in the blender. This output was made homogeneous in a pot using a hand blender.

The slurry was placed on a flat sheet, sprayed with ascorbic acid one tablespoon in a litre of water to retain colour, and placed in the dehydrator, and operated for about 8 hours. The partially dried jeerky was then removed from the flat sheet, flipped over, and placed on the open screen to improve drying, and placed in the dehydrator for about another four hours. Sufficient drying was determined by testing periodically. The final product should be flexible, but dry, not brittle.

The large 14 by 14 inch sheet was cut into edible pieces about 4.5 by 1.75 inches and will be vacuum packed for long term storage.

 

[Durgan]

17 February 2012 Fruit Leather (Jerky) 17 February 2012 Fruit Leather (Jerky)
Fruit leather (jerky) was made using the following:Frozen Cranberries $5.86 1 lb,,Bananas $1.98 2.5 lbs,Pear $2.77 2.33 lb,Buttercup squash $3.39 3.4 lb,California orange $2.15 3.16 lbs,Carrot $1.19 1.5 lbs, Yam $1.03 1.75 lb, Strawberry $1.39 1 lb,Apple $1.86 1.8 lb, Kiwi $2.09 7 medium size,Pineapple $1.99 ,Red plum $3.68 1.42 lb, Mango $2.04 1.38 lb. Total cost for seven 14 by 14 inch trays $31.42. About 175 pieces of 2 by 4 inch finished product. Cost per piece about 18 cents.

Each piece of produce was cut into small pieces and beat into a slurry in their own juices in a typical blender.The yam, squash, and carrot was cooked in microwave for five minutes prior to blending. The output was then made homogeneous in a large pot using a hand blender. The slurry was placed on sheets, and spread evenly, then sprayed with ascorbic acid solution to assist in the fruit retaining colour. Dehydrating takes about ten hours. After eight hours the slurry sheets will be turned over and placed on the open screens to facilitate complete drying. The end product should be flexible and dry, determined by testing periodically.The large sheets will be cut into pieces about 2 inches by 4 inches and vacuum sealed for long term storage at room temperature. Life time may be increased by refrigerating or freezing.

Processing produce in this manner makes a good method for consuming more and a larger variety of fruit and vegetables, since the small pieces make a fine nourishing snack.

 

[Durgan]

23 February 2012 Fruit and Vegetable Leather 23 February 2012 Fruit and Vegetable Leather

Annotated pictures depict the method of making six 14 by 14 inch trays of fruit leather. It appears a great method of increasing the consumption of fruit and vegetables, which is a desired aim.The end product is nutritional and palatable, and stores for long periods.

 

[Durgan]

Orange Fruit Leather

24 February 2012 Orange Leather. 24 February 2012 Orange Leather.

Twenty naval oranges were made into fruit leather. Pictures depict the method. The oranges were peeled and blended into a slurry. Since oranges have much juice the slurry was simply placed in the middle of the sheets to prevent overflowing the edges. Each sheet was about 3 to 4 oranges. There was a total of six sheets for 20 oranges. Nothing was added, simply dehydrated which took about 14 hours at 63 C.