How to Make Homemade Fruit Leather

In this video I make two types of homemade Fruit Leather that I bring as snacks on my backcountry trips.
If you are an avid backcountry traveler who eats, then I know you will love my book Backcountry Eats. This book is all about: Making Great Dehydrated Meals for the Backcountry.
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Ingredients:
Banana Mango Fruit Leather
3-4 ripe bananas
2 cups frozen mango chunks
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
Raspberry Fruit Leather
600g or 20 oz package of frozen raspberries
1 cup apple sauce
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
Disclaimer
Any opinions expressed in this video are mine and mine alone and are not related to my employer or any other organization or individual. I have not been paid to make this video or to endorse a product. If I am ever paid for an endorsement or provided other compensation, I will state it clearly in the video. Any advice or demonstration I provide is just advice. The viewer should take responsibility for their own actions, follow any manufacturers warnings and directions and act safely and responsibly when travelling in the backcountry.

[@edwardbrunato4593]

Never considered fruit leather until now. Helpful tips. Thanks Kevin!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Yummy stuff. Do give it a try!

[@april906outdoors3]

Great demo - I have your cookbook but haven’t made the fruit leather yet. Seeing this motivates me to fire up the blender and dehydrator. 😎The kitchen reno looks great - hope you’ll enjoy it for many years to come. Be well!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks April. Much appreciated!

[@dwrivers47]

Looks delicious. A real treat to have fruit in the backcountry 😊

[@KevinOutdoors]

It really is!

[@blueridgestops3128]

Look who got a second camera! Love the work you are putting into getting those great camera angles, esp. the fruit falling into the blender. I think I subscribed to your channel when you had two or three thousand viewers. You've got the only game in town that could air episodes on both the Nat Geo channel and The Food Network! Just don't let success change your style! But I doubt it would. Great episode. I was just wondering two months ago how to make this. Cheers.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks so much! I loved that comment about Nat Geo and the Food Network! All the best!

[@shawntonner3643]

Just terrific instruction...and kitchen. Found tapping the tray a few times on the counter leveled the mixture and left fewer high spots. Loved the soup ladle tip.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks Shawn!

[@thewoodssmoky9435]

Thanks Kevin. I love making fruit leather with wild fruit I find when camping.

[@KevinOutdoors]

You bet, wild fruit can be so much more tasty.

[@musicloverarmeda]

I am preparing to make peach leather. I have watched quite a few videos about it. I like yours best because you explain what you are doing and why you are doing it. I wondered why the applesauce? I was going to skip it until I saw your video. Also, I definitely like the lemon juice. It will help preserve it - make it keep longer. I like your 2 flavored blended leather. Yours is the only one that has done this. Cheers from Michigan.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks, I think a lot of KZbinrs just copy what they see from other videos and don't do the research to explain why. Good luck with your peach leather! It should work grest!

[@Woodswalker1965]

First of all, the kitchen reno is beautiful. I love the clean contemporary lines. Fruit leather looked great as well, I wouldn’t have thought to add the applesauce, good tip!👍

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks so much. I may use the kitchen to do more 'cooking show' style videos. We'll see. Yes applesauce is the key.

[@craigrobertson6082]

Great demo on the fruit leather. The kitchen looks great, too! Well done.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thank you Craig. This 'set' may become more common in the videos.

[@martinoutside]

I’m trying this over the winter.

[@KevinOutdoors]

You won't regret it.

[@Turtlevulcher98]

This channel is awesome!! So glad I found it. Very helpful videos

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@mustang774]

Kevin, your kitchen turned out great looking. Nice job on that. The fruit leather looks delicious. I've dehydrated many different foods but I have not done fruit leather yet. I think this will be going in my machine after this weekend. Your book has many interesting and easy to follow recipes........Take care, Bluefin.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks a bunch Bluefin and good luck with the fruit leather 👍 Yes we like the kitchen and I think I may do more of these 'cooking show' style videos. Might need to upgrade my sound recording a bit.

[@MarciaFranklin-km8sq]

you explain things so well!!!!!!!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks, Marcia, much appreciated!

[@jeroenvanhofwegen5454]

Got a little Tarantino trunk shot going on in your blender there haha

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks. That was fun to try and pull off.

[@pvesely299]

Splendid video. Thanks Kevin.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@chadbrassard8411]

Hi Kevin. Really appreciate your videos. Tried this one and pretty much followed it step by step but had a lot of shrinkage in the dried product. One tray of raspberry held up but also ended up quite crispy. Taste was great. Thanks!

[@KevinOutdoors]

That can happen, try to check on it more frequently and take it out before it becomes crispy. As you point out it will still taste good but just isn't the texture you are after. When that happens to me, I just package it separately and save it for adding to oatmeal. Despite being crispy it will still rehydrate into a thick fruity sauce if you add hot water and let it sit for a bit.

[@RichardOutdoors]

Good to see you Kevin. Great video!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Hey, thanks! Good to hear from you. I hope all is well.

[@adventureswithjosie]

Great video Kevin! That fruit leather looks really good!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you like it. It tastes great.

[@adventureswithjosie]

@@KevinOutdoors I will have to try it sometime when I get a dehydrator!

[@chemmodutb]

Waw , very good

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@BorealSelfReliance]

How the heck did I not know you had a book -- I'll have to check it out.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks for the support.

[@BorealSelfReliance]

@Kevin Outdoors Got the book today 🙂 - do you know Glen Hooper? I hope he is doing doing alright, I learned alot from him via his videos and met him at the Winter Camping Symposium here in Minnesota 5ish years back.

[@BioDave1955]

Great video as usual. Very informative

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@alanbierhoff6831]

Another tool in the food toolbox 😁 Now I have a video to go along with page 128 lol

[@KevinOutdoors]

LOL, yes I don't think I will do the whole book in video but I can certainly do a few. :)

[@alanbierhoff6831]

@@KevinOutdoors I’m looking forward to them. Thank you

[@Caramel_Latte_is_Delicious]

Yay love your vids. Thank you for making these.

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you like them Jessica!

[@DrewDCohen]

Great content, thanks!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you liked it!

[@cherylwin9364]

VERY COOL, NOW I CAN STOP BUYING CANDY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH 😇👍🏾👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@richardwildeman1267]

Awesome video, thank you so much Kevin! My copy of Backcountry Eats is going to arrive on Sunday, and my Nesco FD-75A dehydrator with extra trays and fruit roll sheets a few days later. I didn't think fruit rolls would be something I would do, but this video really has me wanting to make them now! Did you recently upgrade from your Nesco to the Excalibur? And super awesome job on the kitchen upgrade btw!! 👏👌

[@KevinOutdoors]

Glad you liked it Richard. Happy to hear that you are doing a deeper dive into dehydrating. The Excalibur isn't new. I have had a few Nesco dehydrators for ever but when I got serious about writing the book I got an Excalibur (3-4 yrs ago now). I just wanted to build some experience with multiple dehydrator brands so I could talk about it in the book. I still believe the Nesco is the best bang for the buck. I will say the Excalibur is slightly better quality and the model with the timer-shutoff is really handy but it is a lot more expensive. Both are great! Happy dehydrating!

[@elizabethmilano1055]

That looks delicious 😊

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thank you 😋

[@clarkansas6590]

Good job

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks!

[@Emily-cj9nc]

Looks great! This will be the first recipe I try with my first dehydrator! By the way, do you have any tips for freezing and storing the leather without using plastic?

[@godschild5587]

Fruit leather is very popular in Iran, in Iran it is dried by sun over the roofs, and people like sour taste not sweet.

[@godschild5587]

It's called lavashak in Iran

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks for sharing that. Yeah dehydrating is an old practice done all over the world.

[@xanlysphynx8839]

so f awesome

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks.

[@LindaKreutzer-v2d]

Keep the banana peels to dehydrate for powder for gardening.

[@KevinOutdoors]

We just compost our kitchen waste.

[@Sarah-rd1qy]

Hi Kevin, great video. One question, can I use the oven to dehydrate?

[@KevinOutdoors]

You certainly can. I am sure others have made videos about this. Ideally you have a convection oven because the fan will help but it isn't essential. Set your oven to the lowest setting (200F or less if possible most ovens won't go lower than that) with convection on, put your food on a tray and into the oven and leave the door propped open about an inch. If it won't hold open use a spoon or something non flammable to prop it open. Good luck.

[@tishaousley6807]

Hello. Very new to this. Is there any method you used to determine that a third of your tray is a “roll”? I’m wondering about serving sizes. Thanks for all you do to make this look like any of us can do it!

[@KevinOutdoors]

Sorry, no math involved in the portion size. I make these for trail snacks so I just tear off what I feel like eating at the time.

[@mmonroeapbi]

I did not have very much luck. My leather is closer to Styrofoam. What do you suggest?

[@KevinOutdoors]

It is hard to tell what the problem is when you call it 'Styrofoam'. Is it full of air? Is it hard? Often people change ingredients or ratios and don't realize it.

[@k458lucca8]

So ive make it twice, both with parchment paper in the oven 170⁰F for 6 hour's, both have come out brittle and sticks to the parchment paper, to the point where you cant eat it. Is if the parchment paper? The temperature or the time?

[@thawk5987]

Hey Kevin, how do you find your shepherd's pie recipe to rehydrate? Specifically thinking about the carrots. Do you think they would rehydrate better if sliced thinner? Thanks for the awesome recipes!

[@thawk5987]

Also how long do these fruit leathers keep?

[@KevinOutdoors]

I have done shepherd's pie before and it rehydrates well. The thinner you cut the carrots the better they will rehydrate. I'd go for 1/4" thickness.

[@KevinOutdoors]

@@thawk5987 They keep a very long time but I haven't tested them. They easily keep 2+ weeks and likely a lot longer. But most dehydrated meals last 6+ months and usually more than a year. Just keep everything in an airtight container and keep it dark and cool and you will likely get that lenght out of it. I just throw them in the freezer until camping season and then I don't think twice about it.

[@L48R0D3N7]

Could one use parchment paper on the trays?

[@KevinOutdoors]

Absolutely.

[@djalitanaful]

hi i used baking paper. is your paper different to backing paper? The paper is sticking badly to the fruit leather and also the sheet of fruit leather is very brittle when rolling it with the paper. That issue has nothing to do with the paper, the fruit leather on itself is brittle. What is wrong? I have sprayed oil onto the paper before placing the fruit leather on it and is completely dried in the dehydrator but end results are showing.

[@matthewwalker2592]

How long will this last outside of the freezer?

[@davidvaughn7752]

I'm sure it tastes better than it looks.

[@KevinOutdoors]

LOL.

[@yoshim7103]

Instead of honey would you recommend agave?

[@KevinOutdoors]

I am not sure as agave isn't available where I live and so I am not familiar with it. I presume it is a little sweet and won't completely dry out so I would give it a try. That's the point of the honey, it doesn't completely dehydrate so it helps the leather stay a little flexible.

[@JustAP3rson]

What is the difference if you don’t boil it and if u boil it

[@KevinOutdoors]

It isn't necessary to boil it. If you do,. you can simmer it down to make it thicker. This seems thick enough.

[@JustAP3rson]

@@KevinOutdoors ohhhhh, I tried making fruit leather, and I’ve been putting it in and out of the oven, it got stuck to the baking paper and ain’t coming off 😭 any tips?

[@vvj0308]

What is the shelf life of these fruit leathers? Is the shelf life affected by the use of fresh or frozen fruits?

[@nancyhoekman6706]

Do I have to buy the book to get the recipe?

[@KevinOutdoors]

No not at all. I usually put the recipe in the description but I guess since this only has a few ingredients I didn't bother. I will edit the description.

[@nancyhoekman6706]

@@KevinOutdoors thank you!

[@bige2259]

How long will it last in the pantry on a self ?

[@jayanm9176]

Super 🎉🎉🎉 machalil agri youtbe

[@KevinOutdoors]

Thanks!

[@damonmoon1638]

Bag of frozen mangos goes for $13

[@KevinOutdoors]

Wow, not these ones, but I have seen them increase drastically over the last couple of years.

[@christineperez7562]

Where? Go to aldi

[@adam-e2f]

Then buy fresh mangos

[@slavenkabozic9655]

Molim vas da omogucite prevod na srpski jezk !

[@KevinOutdoors]

I am able to watch this with Serbian closed captioning. I don't think creators can limit translation of certain languages, I certainly haven't done that. I hope you can get it working.

[@billinorlando2887]

I wouldn't eat that raspberry one. It has broken cameras in it. Thats just crazy

[@Trackhoe075]

So what Excalibur are you using? What a stupid thing to leave out

[@KevinOutdoors]

You expect an answer after insulting me?

[@missgry]

"These could be a little bit riper"... Uhm, yes! I would not use bananas that haven't developed any brown spots yet; they're too starchy and not sweet enough.

[@kianacaylen9186]

😪 p̲r̲o̲m̲o̲s̲m̲

[@KevinOutdoors]

??

[@N8DGR8]

Teflon. 🫣