Taste-bud Journey: Pomegranate Plus Amis Fruit Leather

During the pandemic, I am taking taste-bud journeys as I self-isolate rather than physical journeys. Here is my adapted recipe for making Pomegranate Plus Amis Fruit Leather. It was inspired by some web links I found for something similar. I loved my last batch of Fruit Leather I made so much that when I finally finished it off, I decided to experiment further with other flavors.

 

Recipe for Pomegranate, Strawberries, Apple Sauce, and Lemon Juice mixture

• About 3/4 cup of puréed pomegranate seeds 
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice added to pomegranate mixture
• 1/2 serving of unsweetened apple sauce
• 3 long squirts of Mio Lemonade (sweetener plus extra lemon flavor)
• 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (binder plus extra nourishment)
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum (binder)
• About 14 oz. of puréed frozen strawberries
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice added to strawberry mixture mixture
• 8 tbsp of water added to strawberries so as to mix them (FYI - It probably should have been only 4 tablespoons and not 8.)

Recipe for Pomegranate, Blackberries, Apple Sauce, and Lemon Juice mixture

• About 3/4 cup of puréed pomegranate seeds 
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice added to pomegranate mixture
• 1/2 serving of unsweetened apple sauce
• 3 long squirts of Mio Lemonade (sweetener plus extra lemon flavor)
• 2 tbsp Chia Seeds (binder plus extra nourishment)
• 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum (binder)
• About 12 oz. of puréed frozen blackberries
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice added to blackberries mixture

Please note: After each addition of fruit, I taste-tested it until I finally reached a flavor that was not too tart and not too sweet. 

Please also note: I attempted to blend frozen strawberries in my food processor when I should have done this in my food chopper. So, as a result, I kept adding water to get it to mix. Next time, I will reference this and use only my food chopper instead.

   

Procedure

• Step 1: Puréed any fruit you choose to use in your recipe. In my case, I puréed pomegranate seeds, frozen (plus some rehydrated) blackberries, and frozen strawberries.

• Step 2: I decided to make two batches of fruit leather where there will be about 3/4 cup of pomegranate in each batch. 

• Step 3: You can combine whatever flavors you desire. This is the combo I tested out:

1. Batch 1: Pomegranate, lemon juice, apple sauce, strawberries
2. Batch 2: Pomegranate, lemon juice, apple sauce, blackberries
3. FYI - Lemon Juice not only adds a nice flavor, it helps the fruit retain their natural color.
4. FYI - I added 3 long squirts of Mio Lemonade to each batch as that would act as my sweetener along with adding a little extra lemon flavor.

• Step 4: Add just as much water as you feel you need to reach a consistency about the thickness (or a little thicker) of apple sauce.


• Step 5: Add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum. Set your timer for 10 minutes to give the mixture a chance to gel. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. [FYI - I think I should have only set it to 200 degrees Fahrenheit as I ended up overcooking some of them.]

• Step 6: At the end of 10 minutes, pour that mixture into your silicone molds or onto a silicone mat. And spread out to where it is about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Watch the video link below that gives a demonstration of how you can do this properly.

• Step 7: Place the trays into the oven. Since my strawberry mixture was a lot more runny than the blackberry mixture, I placed the tray containing strawberries on the top rack to begin with. Set your time for 1 hour.


• Step 8: At the end of one hour, trade the tray positions. Place the tray that was on the bottom rack on the top rack and vice versa.


• Step 9: Check the mixture every 30 minutes or so. When you judge that the top side appears dry, carefully turn each piece of fruit leather over so that the bottom side has a chance to dry, as well.


• Step 10: When you judge that both sides are not at all tacky and are dry enough, remove them from the oven to cool completely. [FYI - At the 2 hour point, I was able to flip most of the pieces of fruit over. At about the 2 1/2 hour point, I was able to remove some from the oven; whereas, others needed to still bake. At about 3 hours, I turned off the oven and let the final few pieces of leather dry out a bit more. Some of them ended up quite crispy and more like chips instead of resilient fruit leather. Some pieces worked out fine. They all are yummy; however, next time, I will keep the heat at 200 degrees Fahrenheit to have the leather dry out better without becoming crispy like crunchy candy.]

• Step 11: When they are completely cool, place them in a Ziploc bag or storage container. Add an oxygen absorber to the container to help the fruit leather to maintain its freshness.


• Step 12: Eat and enjoy! They should stay fresh about one to two weeks. You can refrigerate them, if you desire. I keep my stored at room temperature.

Please note: I had previously dehydrated some blackberries using my COSORI Dehydrator. I have since decided that I don't feel that blackberries and raspberries dehydrate very nicely since they are so shriveled to begin with. So, I spent 24 hours rehydrating the blackberries I had not yet eaten. The way you do this is fill the storage container with water and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. The blackberries plumped back up. Then, I drained the water and threw them into the food chopper along with the frozen blackberries I had left in my freezer.

  

Here are my blog links for the other fruit leathers I have made so far. I will also include the blog links for the dehydrated fruit I have made. Each blog link will open up in a new window. The video will open up in a new window, as well.

• Taste-bud Journey: Pineapple, Peach, Applesauce, & Lemon Fruit & Chia Seeds Leather

• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrating three types of Berry Fruit Leather


• Taste-bud Journey: Mango and Chia Seeds Fruit Leather with a Tangy Twist


• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrating Pineapple Rings


• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrating Mixed Fruit


• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrating Kiwi Fruit


• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrate Strawberries in Cosori Dehydrator


• Taste-bud Journey: Dehydrate Strawberries in Oven

Here are the blog links for some other chefs making fruit leather using pomegranate. Perhaps they will inspire you like they did me. Each blog link will open up in a new window.

• Lavashak Anar ~ Pomegranate Fruit Roll


• Somebody's pin stated: 'Applesauce and pomegranate fruit leather. A healthy way to curb those sweet cravings. It's as close as you can get to candy without eating candy. All natural, no preservatives, no added sugar.'


• Strawberry, Blueberry and Pomegranate Fruit Roll-Ups

Here is a video tutorial for how to make applesauce fruit rollups in the oven. It is short and sweet. The chef dried hers for 6 to 8 hours in the oven at 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

In case you are interested in where I got these 'kitchen toys,'here are the links. They will all open in a new window. FYI - I don't get any special perks for posting these. This is simply listed for the convenience for people, like me, who adore kitchen gadgets and baking aids.

• Pantry Elements Rectangular Silicone Baking Cups / Cupcake and Muffin Molds, Six Vibrant Colors - 12-Pack from Amazon


• Wilton 6ct Silicone Mini Tart and Pie Molds from Target.com


• Walfos Premium Silicone Muffin Top Pan, Non-Stick Muffin Top Baking Pan, Prefect for Baking Cake, Corn Bread, Muffin Top and More, Food Grade and BPA Free (2-PK Silicone Muffin Top Pan)

Cooking Sites that have inspired me:

• Gemma's Bigger Bolding Baking website that includes over 100 great cooking videos.

• All Recipes Website that includes all kinds of sweet and savory recipes.

Books written by Debbie Dunn:

Here is the Amazon Link to all anti-bullying curriculum books plus all children’s books written by Debbie Dunn (both paperback and Kindle). It will open up in a new window.

• Author’s Page on Amazon.com