My Own Personal Food Sustainability Series: Episode 5

This episode is with regards to aging fruit. Fruit that has seen younger days, and prettier days. Now it has wrinkles, and the human equivalent to "liver spots". It is nearing the end of it's life, and, if you don't use it soon, it will start to stink. And then come the obnoxious fruit flies...

So, the first question is, is fruit ok to eat if it is just a little discolored, and maybe a little softer than it should be?... Sure, as long as it hasn't become fuzzy (assuming it's not a naturally fuzzy fruit). Will it taste as good?... Possibly not, hard to say. But, eventually it will reach a point when there is a whole new, colorful type of universe growing on the fruit itself, and at this point, when it becomes downright rancid, it is obviously past the point of return. But, say you are in a situation where you have 10 more oranges (or apples, or whatever... Use your imagination!), they are obviously starting to age, and you know there's no way you can finish them all before they contain their own ecosystems, and they're doomed for the landfill. What can you do?

Well, I recently experimented with a new concept (to me) that may help answer this question: HOMEMADE FRUIT LEATHER!!! it is essentially a process of drying out the fruit until it is basically a healthy fruit roll up. Removing the moisture greatly decreases the likelihood of any type of growth therefore increasing the shelf life of whatever fruit you are working with, and drying fruit always concentrates the nutrients, meaning a serving size is smaller.

Ingredients:

-At least 3 Cups of any type of fruit.

-A little sugar: I just did about a tsp to a tbsp, and when you consider that for the amount of fruit and your final number of servings, that is a minuscule amount per serving. It doesn't take much, however... You know food, cooking, baking, how it all comes together, it's really a science, and I really think the sugar will help form your final product a little better. You could try it without any, taste wise you don't need it, but I do think a little sugar is likely to help the process along.

-A little water: I probably put about 1/4 C in the pot, you just want to make sure you have some extra moisture than just the fruit.

Steps:

-Put fruit in pot (my fruit leather was "banana berry": banana's, kiwi, and blueberries)

-Very good! now add a little bit of water and the sugar, and cook on medium heat until fruit is simmering, most of the juices have come out, and it's a nice pot of fruit mush!

-Let your "fruit mush" cool, and then give it a spin in the blender, or food processor until it is completely smooth

-Next, I laid a sheet of parchment paper* across a pan, and poured some of my blended "fruit mush" over the parchment paper; use the back of a spoon to evenly distribute it and make it fairly thin

*I say "I laid a sheet of parchment paper", because there are various ways to do this. Some websites recommend just non-stick pans, some recommend aluminum foil. Can't say what it best, but I can say that parchment paper worked fine for me.

-Cook in oven on low heat (I did 200 degrees) until dry and you can peel it off the paper (3-6 hours; time depends on a combination of how thick your layer is, if you use parchment paper v. foil, etc. That's the catch, it can take a long time! but, basically the thinner your layer, the quicker it will go).

Final Product:

A few strips of my completed fruit leather

Bon Appetit!