How to Make Autumn Olive Fruit Leather

‘Tis the season for fall fruits! From crab apples and rose hips to paw paws and persimmons, October’s cooler nights are activating natural sugars in wild fruits, turning them sweet and ready for harvesting.

This week, autumn olive fruit leather is on the menu! Invasive throughout New England, these shrubs are loaded with beautiful bright red berries dusted with silvery dots. Their leaves are spear-shaped and lush green on top, with a silver sheen on the underside. Look for them along field and wood edges from late September through November.

From shrubs to jams and ketchup to fruit leather, there are so many ways to use this invasive fruit. Tart, sour, just a little sweet, and bursting with antioxidant goodness, it’s the perfect fall and winter snack and much more healthy than store bought fruit roll ups!

The best part about this recipe? You only need two ingredients – autumn olives (of course!) and just a bit of honey. Gathering large amounts is quite easy as well. After a quick 45-minute trip to a large grove in Newburyport with my sister, we were able to gather around four pounds of these tasty treasures. Once home, I turned our haul into an incredibly delicious fruit leather that I cannot stop snacking on!

Steps:

1. Gather at least 4 cups of autumn olives
2. Remove any leaves and give the berries a quick rinse
3. Place the berries in a pot along with a 1/2 cup of water
4. Set the heat to medium-low and begin smashing the berries, approximately 7-8 minutes
5. Continue smashing until the berries begin to simmer
6. Simmer for 3-4 minutes

Strain the contents using a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Transfer the strained juice back into your pot and place a food mill over the top of the pot, with the seeds and any unmashed berries in it. Grind the remaining pulp through the food mill and into your pot. With the juice and pulp combined and still warm, add 2 tablespoons of raw honey and mix until dissolved.

Grab a few sheets of parchment paper. Dampen a paper towel with vegetable oil and gently rub the oil onto the parchment paper to coat it (this will make pulling it off WAY easier!).

Set the parchment paper on top of your dehydrator racks. If you don’t own a dehydrator, don’t worry! You can place the parchment paper on top of a flat roasting pan. Slowly pour the autumn olive mixture onto the parchment paper, spreading it evenly.

Put your racks into the dehydrator, set the temperature to 135F degrees and cook for 6-8 hours. Or, place your roasting pan in the oven and set it to the lowest temperature possible (usually around 200F degrees for most ovens). Cook for 3-4 hours.

Thanks to the oil on the parchment, you should be able to easily peel off leather. Using scissors, cut them into smaller pieces, roll them, then store them in a mason jar for enjoyment throughout the winter months.

Come out and sample my fruit leather, along with freshly plucked paw paws, a wide variety of mushroom dishes and seasonal cocktails and mocktails at the season’s last forage and wild food picnic on October 24 in Lynn. It promises to be an epic feast of October goodness!!