I never heard of it. Is it like those fruit strips in the stores or is it something different.

Raven, yes it's the same thing. They are sometimes called fruit roll-ups.

By the way, that oddly shaped section is where hubby and I were taste testing before I cut it into strips and rolled them up. It was hard to resist!

I just bought some dehydrators so will be trying to do fruit roll ups soon. Yours looks good!

Do you leave the seeds in?

I haven't made any for over a year, but my go to fruit roll up is apple. The best kind is from my homemade applesauce where I buy the in season fall apples and make my own applesauce. I leave it a bit chunkier and use apples with a sweet, but tart taste. My applesauce doesn't contain water or sugar like the store kinds do. The store kinds work too. I have given it out as Christmas presents in the past. It's a high demand product in my family. I've also made it with peaches and strawberries. We still prefer apple.

Adella, remove all seeds, stems, and peels; citrus zest is a nice additive, though.

I've used homemade applesauce, too, spiced with cinnamon. Yum!

OK now I want some!

Years ago I did, when the kids were growing up. We had a food dehydrator, and a lot of fruit went through it. Now my daughter-in-law has two little boys and a food dehydrator. I'll have to ask if she's tried any fruit leathers. Your final result looks good!

They look delicious!

Thanks everyone!

I strained the seeds out using cheesecloth and I also cooked it down for about 30 minutes on a slow simmer. It was in the oven at 170 for about five hours when I decided it was done.

adellabadella and rhizo, you've given me some great suggestions for future flavors - thanks!

For anyone who wants to try it, it's really easy and very little fuss once the fruit mixture is in the oven. Most of the work involved was throwing the berries in the food processor and straining those little seeds out which only took a few minutes.

We're going to enjoy snacking on these and I really like that there's nothing in them but fruit, a little bit of sugar (will use honey next time) and lemon juice.

We're having sunny and drier weather in the Bay Area. Where in California are you, in the far north near Oregon?

Yes, Elmer.

Dawn....I just want to add that you should do a taste test first when cooking. Some fruits don't need any sweetening at all. I've used stevia upon occasion, too.

I almost always add a little bit of citrus juice, seems to add just the right amount of zing.

Oh, I did, rhizo. I'd rather not add any sweetener at all, but those blackberries were really tart! I just added the sugar a little bit at a time until the berry mix tasted right. The lemon juice and the sugar really brought out the blackberry flavor. Sounds odd that something sour like lemon juice added to something that's already tart would work, but it does.

I wonder. How do you think lime juice would work? I much prefer the flavor of lime over lemon, but lemon is what I had on hand.

I use Stevia in my tea, but have never cooked with it. I'll give it a try next time I need to sweeten something like super tart blackberries!

That looks good. Used to love the apricot rollups. Will have to look for them next time I'm at the store.

Dawn, I'm sure that lime would work! Strawberry and lime, mmmmmm.

Thank you, angelaid!

rhizo, I think next time I make leather, I'll try that strawberry/lime comb. Sounds really good!

Future leather making is going to more of a summer activity, I think. That's when the farmer's market is in full swing and I can buy fresh, local, organic fruit. Can't wait for the farmer's market to start up, but that's not til May, so I am going to have a bit of a wait.

Dawn - that looks beautiful! Can you post the recipe? I grow red raspberries - would that work?

Thank you, skibby!

Sure, I'd be happy to post it. I sort of winged it after looking at several recipes online and my measurements are not precise.

Put one pint of berries or other fruit in food processor or blender and process until smooth. Strain through cheesecloth to remove seeds if desired. Add one tspn lemon juice and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. If your fruit is tart like my blackberries were add sugar in small amounts to taste. I ended up adding about 1/4 cup of sugar.

Remove from heat and let cool for 15 minutes.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper and pour mixture onto baking sheet. Spread to about 1/8 inch thick. The thicker the layer, the longer it takes to try. Put in 170 degree oven for approximately five hours or until leather is no longer wet or sticky. Remove from oven and let cool. Mine was still a bit sticky when I took it out but the edges were beginning to get too dry, so I let it sit overnight and it was perfect the next morning.

Cut into two inch strips and roll with parchment paper left on. Secure with twine, ribbon or rubber bands. Store in airtight container (I used a ziplock freezer bag). Keeps for up to one month.

Enjoy!

Your raspberries would work great and I'll bet the resulting fruit leather would be such a pretty color too!