This Bilberry and apple fruit leather Recipe is the perfect way to preserve bilberries for use later in the year. It can be reheated with a little water to turn back to a jam or pie filling or can be used as is as a fruit leather or jerky which is incredible as a mid-hike snack.
Cooking – 30 minutes
Until finishes – 6hrs
Makes a two large baking trays worth or 30 rolls
It always reminds me of chewy sweets and is the perfect thing to take out on a long walk as a snack.
Ingredients for this Bilberry and apple fruit leather Recipe:
- 500grams cooking apples, peeled and cored (cut them as you like, diced, quartered)
- 200grams bilberries (or 20 minutes bilberry collecting)
- 200grams jam sugar
Method:
- Put the apples in a large pan and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes, until it starts to mush down slightly, add the sugar and bilberries and cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Put the whole lot in a blender and blitz until a smooth consistency is reached
- Boil this mixture until it starts to caramelise (usually around 30 minutes on a medium heat).
- Once you’ve reached this stage, pour this mixture in to two large non-stick dish (at least 30x20cms, it’s good to be spread thin so put in even more separate dishes if you have small ones – a thick spread in the tray will take forever to dry) with a lining of baking paper and place in your oven on 100C/200F/Gas mark 3. Leave the door of the oven slightly ajar and allow all of the liquid to evaporate from the mixture, I leave for 4 hours and then check how it feels – it should peel out of the tray easily and shouldn’t feel wet or overly sticky, if it is I leave it in another hour and try again (depending on how much liquid was in the initial ingredients this can take up to 10 hours).
- You should now be able to peel your fruit leather off your tray and can eat it straight away, or roll it up in the baking paper and store in the fridge or an air tight jar. This is amazing preservation and should store for at least 1 yr in your jar.
Find our Bilberry Recipes right here
