Homemade fruit leather is very easy to make, anda great way to use up your abundance of ripe summer fruit. Use this recipe to make leather with most any fruit you like. A Silpat wil lrelease the fruit leather with the most ease, but parchment paper can be usedinstead to line the pan. For thicker leather, double the recipe using the same size sheet pan, and double the baking time. Makes one half sheet pan (18”x13”)of leather.
Line a heavy duty sheet pan (18”x13”) with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place a rack in the middle position of the oven, and turn on the oven to the lowest setting, about 140-170˚F.
In a small heavy saucepan, bring the fruit, lime juice, and water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the fruit begins to break down, add the agave nectar or sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Taste the mixture after each addition to determine if it is sweet enough. If not, add more agave or sugar.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the fruit mixture for 10 minutes.
Puree the cooked fruit in a blender or food processor until smooth, about one minute. Pour the puree on the lined sheet pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula or back of a spoon, leaving an inch of space around the perimeter.
Bake for about 4 hours, until the leather is mostly dried but still slightly tacky to touch. To roll up the fruit, if using a Silpat, peel the entire sheet of leather off the Silpat and lay it on the same sized sheet of waxed paper before cutting into strips and rolling up; if using parchment, do not remove the leather, and cut into strips then roll up. Eat the leather immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.