Silverberry Fruit Leather
Fruit leather makes a healthy snack and can also be rehydrated and used to make sauces or marinades. For this recipe start, with at least three cups of fruit.
Spread your silverberries on the bottom of a large pan and barely cover with water. Cook over medium heat until the fruit is soft enough to mash, then run the mixture through a food mill to remove the seeds.
Taste the fruit pulp, and decide whether it needs sweetening. Silverberries are tart, and will be tastier with sugar, honey, or agave nectar. Start with a half tablespoon of sweetener per cup of pulp and increase the sweetener until you’re happy with the taste of the fruit. (I prefer mine barely sweet.) Cook over medium heat until the consistency is thick enough to be spreadable, but not runny.
If you have a dehydrator, spread a layer of pulp about .3 cm (⅛ inch) thick on trays lined with silicon sheets or parchment paper. It will take approximately eight to twelve hours to dry. If you don’t have a dehydrator, spread a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and pour the fruit pulp in a .3 cm (⅛ inch) layer. Dry this in the oven at 52 – 66° C (125 – 150° F) overnight, or until the leather is dry and flexible. A light coating of spray oil on either the parchment paper or silicone sheets makes it much easier to remove the fruit leather. Peel the finished product off the parchment or silicone, and cut it into squares or strips then store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.