Crispy Peaches

Crispy Peaches

Today was peach day.   I made 10 jars of peach jam and some fruit leather. My jam recipe comes from the insert in the pectin box so it’s nothing exciting to report, but it is tasty.  This time I made 5 jars of peach jam and five jars of strawberry peach jam.

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I’m always glad to make pantry staples for myself if nothing else to let me know what’s inside.  And, I’m shocked EVERY TIME I make jelly and jam to realize that there’s more sugar than fruit in the jam.  It makes me enjoy them sparingly.

I pureed some peaches to make some fruit leather.  I have a dehydrator and it is a snap to make fruit leather with a dehydrator.  I don’t find it nearly as easy to make it in the oven.

My dehydrator is round and so to begin, I make some parchment sheets that fit my trays.  You can buy fruit leather plastic sheets but I like to make my own and I like to use paper rather than plastic.

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Some recipes have you add sugar or corn syrup to the fruit puree.  I do not.  Some people also add lemon juice to keep the fruit a lighter color.  I don’t do that either.  I don’t mind the slightly darkened color of the fruit after it has been dried.

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I puree peaches to make 4 cups and then spread one cup on each tray. I stack up the trays, plug it in, and let them dry for about 4 hours. If you want the leather chewy, you can test it before 4 hours.  If you like the fruit leather to be dry and crisp, then about 4 hours is good. I like it crispy the best.

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When it’s done, it is no longer tacky to the touch and it will be stuck to the paper.

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I peel it off and eat it or store it in the paper for later.  The only tricky part to me is allowing it to cool and then leaping into action the millisecond that it is cooled so I can put it in an airtight container before it starts to absorb moisture again.  Needless to say the South is very humid and you can’t let anything sit out for any length of time before it loses its original texture.  I exaggerate but not by much!

The picture shows some of the crispy fruit leather on a plate and some rolled in the parchment paper for later. It looks like a peach rose.  I love it for a snack or to decorate other foods. DSC_0752 p.s. The dog loves it, too.

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2 Responses to Crispy Peaches

  1. Anonymous July 17, 2016 at 8:17 am #

    I used to have a dehydrator and when it died I didn’t replace it. You have inspired me. One Christmas several years ago I gave everyone in the family dried fruit. My brother still talks about how good it was. His favorites were the dried apples, pears and bananas.

    • Julie July 17, 2016 at 10:41 am #

      I’ve never dried pears or bananas. I will have to experiment with them next. I found a salad topper recipe with dehydrated vegetables that sounds interesting. I want to give that a try, too. My only frustration is with the humidity here. It rapidly re-hydrates everything!

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