Sun recipe: Fruit leathers

Here’s a recipe for fruit leathers made with a solar dryer! A must-have recipe for raw food eaters and fans of nouvelle cuisine, fruit leathers are simply a sweetened fruit compote (apple, raspberry, mango, etc.), well blended and spread thinly on a sheet of baking parchment or silicone sheet until completely dry. The result is a soft, matte fruit leaf that can be cut like leather. A real natural sweet that’s good for you. The only downside to this recipe is that it eats up in no time!

Recipe suggested by : Linda Louis – OMY solar dryer – Preparation time: 10 min – Drying time: 6/7 h

Ingredients for 4 people

Choice of fruit (strawberry, raspberry, apricot, kiwi, mango, blueberry, apple, pear…)
Cane sugar to taste.

Preparation of fruit leathers

Peel the fruit and remove any seeds.
Blend with a little cane sugar (optional if the fruit is very sweet); allow for around 10% sugar, or 10g per 100g of fruit.
For soft fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and kiwi, add a little banana (ripe) or mango.
For fruits such as apples or pears, cook them beforehand like a compote, otherwise the fruit leather won’t have an interesting texture and taste.
Pour the compote onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment or silicone sheet. Use a flexible spatula to spread the mixture to a thickness of 1 or 2 mm. Apply for smooth, even leather.
Let the leather dry for 4 to 6/7 hours. Note that drying times vary according to the type of dryer, the texture of the fruit and the thickness of the compote.
Leather is ready when you can run your palm over it without “creasing” it, and when it becomes soft and smooth on the surface.
Cut with scissors and store between two sheets of greaseproof paper.

Enjoy your meal!

Cooking without gas or electricity

This recipe is taken from the book “Cooking without gas or electricity” by Linda Louis: from the wood stove to the solar oven via the fireplace or even the campfire, the rocket stove, the wood oven, the solar dehydrator , the smoker, the barbecue, the Norwegian pot…Explore alternative cooking techniques without gas or electricity for economical and ecological recipes. Linda Louis is the author of several books that are references in organic, local and wild cuisine. She also explores the themes of food autonomy in the great outdoors and zero waste. She regularly collaborates with the culinary, gardening or ecological press and since 2006 has contributed a blog, Cuisine Campagne (www.cuisine-campagne.com), a portfolio (www.linda-louis.com) and an Instagram account (lindalouisberry) in which she advocates authentic, generous cuisine close to nature and know-how.