When Life Gives You 40 Lbs of Peaches
Make Peach Leather!
In preparation for my Teton Crest Trail hike, I've been dehydrating like a fiend. I love fruit leathers for an afternoon pick-me-up when I need a little extra oomph to get me through the last couple miles, but the overwhelming sweetness of dried fruit usually bothers my stomach. Peach Basil Fruit Leather are the perfect combo of flavors to give me that pick-me-up without all the sickening sweetness.
Here's the recipe I like to use (adapted from Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'):
- Peel five peaches and cut into small pieces
- Place into a pot of boiling water
- Boil for about a minute
- Remove and drain the fruit
- Clean and chop a few tablespoons of fresh basil (more or less depending on your taste)
- Puree peaches and basil in blender
- Pour evenly over a parchment-lined dehydrator tray. The layer should be about 1/8" thick. Try to keep the center pool as thin as possible. That area will remain gummy longer than the edges
- Dehydrate on 130 for approximately 6 hours
- Check leather after 6 hours and remove from parchment paper if the mixture has solidified
- Throw away parchment paper, flip the fruit leather, and dehydrate for 1-2 additional hours. Fruit leather is ready when it is no longer sticky to touch.
When your leather is done, toss it in a baggie and get going! Happy Trails!