How to make apricot fruit leather in a dehydrator

Table of Contents Show

• How to Make This Recipe
• Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
• Making Qamardeen with Dried Apricots
• Fruit Leather Thickness

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1. Rinse the fruit. If you're working with stone fruit, take out the pits. Chop the fruit.

   If you're working with apples or pears, peel and core them, then chop. If working with grapes, de-stem them.

   Taste the fruit before proceeding. Note how sweet the fruit is. If very sweet (ripe Concord grapes, for example) you won't need to add any sugar. If still a little tart, you may need to add some sugar in the next step.

2. Place the fruit in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of water for every 4 cups of chopped fruit.

   Bring to a simmer, cover, and let cook on a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the fruit is cooked through. Uncover and stir.

   Use a potato masher to mash up the fruit in the pan.

3. Taste the fruit and determine how much sugar, lemon juice, or spices to add.

   If needed, add the sugar in small amounts (1 tablespoon at a time), to your desired level of sweetness.

   Add lemon juice 1 teaspoon at a time to help brighten the flavor of the fruit. Add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or other spices to augment the flavor, if you'd like.

   Continue to simmer and stir until any added sugar is completely dissolved and the fruit purée has thickened, another 5 or 10 (or more) minutes.

   If you are working with grapes, strain the juice out of the mashed grapes to make grape juice. Force what is left behind through a food mill to make the purée for the next step.

4. Put the mashed fruit through a food mill or chinoise. Alternatively, purée the fruit thoroughly in a blender or food processor. The purée should be very smooth.

   Taste again and adjust the sugar/lemon/spices, if necessary.

5. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a sturdy, heat-proof plastic wrap (the kind that is microwave safe). Pour out the purée onto the lined baking sheet to about an 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness.

   Elise Bauer

6. Heat the oven to 140°F.

   Place the baking sheet in the oven. Try to keep any plastic wrap from touching the sides of the oven or the oven racks. Also, try to make sure the plastic wrap hasn't folded back over on top of the purée. If this happens, the purée won't dry out.

   If you have a convection setting, use it. It will speed up the drying process. Let dry in the oven for as long as it takes for the purée to form fruit leather. We usually keep it in the oven overnight, about 8 to 12 hours.

   The fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky to the touch.

   Elise Bauer

7. When the fruit leather is ready, you can easily peel it up from the plastic wrap.

   To store it, roll it in its plastic wrap, put it in an airtight container, and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

   Elise Bauer

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Today we're making Homemade Fruit Leather using fresh apricots. I love using fresh fruit to make delicious snacks not only in this recipe but also in other recipes including my Date Paste recipe.

This was my favorite childhood treat, which is called "Qamardeen" or "Qamar Al Din" in Arabic.

Qamar al-Din also happens to be the name of an apricot juice that is typically consumed by Muslims during Ramadan. As if that wasn't enough, it's also the name of an apricot pudding and an Islamic spiritual app.

I have fond memories of my early childhood in Iraq. I still remember the excitement I felt when my parents brought home Qamardeen, or Middle Eastern apricot fruit leather.

Unlike here in the states, where fruit leather comes in many different flavors, in the Middle East, apricot was the only flavor available. And guess what, we were totally content with that!

How to Make This Recipe

1. Wash and chop approximately 8 to 10 apricots, to equal 3 cups.

2. Add apricots to a small saucepan. Sprinkle apricots with 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add sugar and water.

3. Bring mixture to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Allow the mixture to cool, then puree in a food processor or blender.

5. Line an 18" x 13" tray with either parchment paper, plastic wrap, or a silicone baking mat. Pour the apricot mixture into the tray and spread with a spatula.

6. Bake in a 180-degree F oven for 5 hours or until the surface of the fruit leather is dried and slightly sticky.

7. Flip fruit leather onto waxed paper and peel off the plastic wrap.

8. Cut fruit leather into strips and roll.

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

Are Homemade Fruit Leathers Healthy?

When compared to store-bought fruit leathers, homemade fruit leather is way healthier! Besides being healthier, homemade Fruit Leather tastes so much better than store-bought leathers.If you are used to packing your children's lunch boxes with boxed brands like "Fruit by the Foot," you'll love this tasty alternative. As an example, let's take a quick look at a typical store-bought fruit leather label.Notice the ingredients list: Sugar, Maltodextrin, Corn Syrup, Pear Puree Concentrate, Palm Oil, Carrageenan, Citric Acid, Monoglycerides, Sodium Citrate, Acetylated Monoglycerides and on and on... are you feeling guilty yet for feeding this stuff to your kids?Now let's take a look at the ingredients in my Homemade Fruit Leather: fresh apricots, fresh lemon juice, and sugar.Between the two, I think Homemade Fruit Leather is the clear winner when it comes to healthier snack alternatives!

How do you make Fruit Leather without a dehydrator?

If you don't own a dehydrator, just use your oven. Set the oven to its lowest setting. I set mine to 180 degrees F. At this temperature, it took five hours until my apricot fruit leather was ready. Your time may vary.

How do you make Fruit Leather with a Dehydrator?

After the fruit mixture is pureed, pour the mixture over the fruit drying tray of your dehydrator.

Spread with a spatula in an even layer, then set the dehydrator on the fruit drying setting. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours, or until the fruit leather is dry to the touch, and not too sticky. 

Making Qamardeen with Dried Apricots

You can also make this recipe using dried apricots instead of fresh ones. Just make the following substitutions:

• Instead of fresh apricots, use two cups of dried apricots.
• Double the amount of water (from ¼ cup to ½ cup).
• You may need less lemon juice since dried apricots are usually more tart than fresh apricots.

Fruit Leather Thickness

Qamardeen comes in a thick sheet that's folded and wrapped in orange cellophane. As a child, I remember tearing into the Qamardeen packaging and ripping off strips of the tasty fruit leather to devour!

You can still purchase Qamardeen at most Middle Eastern markets, or pick up a package on Amazon. What can't you buy on Amazon, am I right?

Middle Eastern Fruit Leather is very thick, as seen in the picture below. As a matter of fact, because of it's strong flavor and thickness I can only eat a small piece at a time.

If you want to make thicker fruit leather, try doubling the recipe or using a smaller pan. Don't forget, because of the thickness, it will also take a lot longer to dry out.

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