In last week's blog post, I mentioned that our family would be experimenting with a recipe for homemade fruit leathers after finding a recipe online.
This week, I'm glad to report that our inaugural efforts to make strawberry li hing mui leather were deemed successful by the discerning palates of my toughest critics, Ensen and Avery.
The taste was delicious and the texture was pretty convincing despite the fact that we didn't use xanthan gum because we could not find it the grocery stores we visited (Don Quijote and Foodland). I also modified the recipe to eliminate the addition of sugar and let the strawberries and li hing mui powder shine on their own.
I was satisfied with this first attempt, but I look forward to experimenting with the recipe and flavor combinations next time. As long as you're using fruit naturally high in pectin, you really don't need to add xanthan gum. Nonetheless, I will try it to see how it changes things up.
In the interest of getting other families into the kitchen and making their own fresh and healthy fruit leathers, here are my step-by-step instructions to demonstrate just how easy it is to do.
After washing and cutting one 16-ounce container of strawberries, place them into a blender and purée until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan or pot and reduce on medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. The goal is to remove as much water, so it reduces the time needed in the oven.
Once mixture reaches a thicker consistency, stir in 1 tablespoon of li hing mui powder (or less/more to taste). Pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or other silicone/non-stick baking mat) and spread evenly with an offset spatula. The trick is to find the right thickness. Spread the strawberry mixture out too thin and it will become brittle in the baking process. Leave it too thick and it will require much more time to dry out.
After mixture is spread out evenly, place in a 170 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours. You are looking for the leather to be a little sticky to the touch, not wet and mushy. Visually, you will also be able to get a sense of when it's done. It will look like a fruit roll-up.
Remove from oven and place parchment paper on a cooking rack.
Cut into strips and roll ‘em up or tear off a piece and enjoy!
Nathan Kam is a Honolulu public relations executive, husband and a proud daddy of two incredible kids, Ensen (6) and Avery (3). He enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling, blogging and golfing. You can reach him via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or via his personal Kam Family Blog.
