Monday, June 28, 2010

Snacks: Strawberry Leather

Strawberries are in season!  I love strawberry fruit rollups but haven't been able to find any in local grocery stores for the last few years.  I never really considered trying to make some for myself until I saw a recipe on a blog.  Then I looked up several recipes and decided to try the Strawberry Leather Recipe on Epicurious a try.

I looked online and found a local farm that produces five varieties of strawberries.  I looked up the varieties and found that the Albion is supposed to be sweeter than average.  I had my hopes set on trying this variety out, but left the fruit stand disappointed.  We picked up 2 packs of strawberries anyways.  I used up one pack to test out the recipe.

4 1/2 cups of halved strawberries
3/4 cup sugar

I blended the strawberries and sugar, then sieved out the seeds.  I brought the strawberry puree to a boil and lowered the heat (medium low) - simmering for about an hour.  The strawberry puree almost boiled over and Daddy helped me transfer it to a bigger pot.  I watched over it and stirred it frequently.  After, I lined two trays with parchment paper, added the strawberry puree as thinly and evenly as I could.  Would be better if I had a silicone baking sheet - since the parchment paper warped/wrinkled.  I preheated the oven to 200F and baked one tray for 2 hours and the other for 3 hours.  I left both trays to continue to dry and cool on a cooling rack overnight.  I cut them into strips and rolled them up.

Result: the 2 hour tray had some mushy spots that didn't dry enough - but the pieces were softer.  The 3 hour tray had dried completely, but was a bit tougher (especially around the edges).  I might have to try 2.5 hours next time.


I tried to offer some to Isaac but he didn't want to try it at all.  He did taste it after when I had him distracted (watching a dog), but he's not very interested in the strawberry leather.  Oh well, more for me.

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