How to Know if Your Fruit Leather is Dry Enough
Here’s how to check for dryness of fruit leather. Proper dryness is critical to the success of making and storing homemade fruit roll ups. To address this question, here’s a write-up and video to you tell if your fruit leather is dry enough.
Look, feel and taste – those are the key steps in determining if your leather is sufficiently dry. Actually, the tasting is strictly for your pleasure and a small reward for your hard work!
LOOK for Dryness of Fruit Leather
Properly dried fruit leather will have even, consistent coloring and be slightly translucent. Wet spots show up as much lighter or darker spots than the rest of the fruit leather. In the photo below, you can clearly see the wet area still looks a lot like apple sauce, compared to the rest of the leather.
Look for consistent, translucent coloring as in this photo.
FEEL for Dryness of Fruit Leather
Using a flat hand, gently touch the leather in several places. If it feels even, use a finger to touch any spots you may be unsure about. Your hand or finger should not leave any indentations.
The leather may feel tacky but it should not feel wet. Tacky means it may be slightly sticky, but nothing will actually come off on your hand or finger. Imagine putting your finger on a Post-It Note versus on a spot of white craft glue. The Post-It Note would feel tacky but the glue wouldn’t stay on your finger unlike what would happen with the craft glue. The tacky feeling in fruit leather is due to added sweeteners (eg. honey or syrup) or even just the natural sugars present in fruit.
If the hand and finger test work out, lift the edge of the leather and peel back. If it peels easily, without leaving any residues your leather is sufficiently dry. You may find that the edges are easy to peel and feel very dry, but the center may leave some residue as in the photo below. This is a sign that your fruit leather is NOT dry enough. Let it dry for another 30-60 minutes to ensure you can store your fruit roll ups safely.
Dried fruit leather is easy to peel from the pan. As in the photo below, it is clean and neat all the way through.
When your fruit leather is sufficiently dry, allow it to cool completely before rolling, cutting in strips and storing in an airtight container for several months.
Here’s a fruit leather recipe for you to try.
Pumpkin and Apple Pie Flavored Fruit Leather
Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Leather
And if you like video tutorials, check out my You Tube video on the Pumpkin and Apple Pie Fruit Leather.
Please note! Homemade fruit leather or fruit roll ups will be different than commercial products. Most commercial products add preservatives that allow them to be packaged and stored with a much higher water content than homemade dried fruit and fruit leathers. Therefore, do not use commercial products as a standard of comparison.
And now, taste and enjoy!
I’d love to see your fruit leather creations. Leave a comment or take a photo and tag #getgettys so I can see it and like it!
Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist, speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas. She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.
