Making Strawberry Leather

Strawberry leather is one of my favorite trail foods. It doesn't spoil, it's all natural, and packs well. And it's amazingly quick and easy to make!

Ingredients

2 lbs strawberries
1/4 cup honey

A blender and dehydrator will be very useful, but you can moosh things up by hand if you have the energy and dehydrate the strawberry leather in an oven or even in the sun if you want. I'll assume you have access to a blender and dehydrator, however, for these directions.

Step 1: Blend Strawberries and Honey

It's not rocket science. Blend a bunch of strawberries and honey together. No, you don't have to strain the strawberry seeds out. I don't even bother to cut the green stems of the strawberries off. Blend it all! Once it's all mooshed up, you'll still see the seeds, but they're small and no big deal—and the green stems magically disappear in the liquified concoction.

And really, don't worry about having exact measurements. If you want something a little sweeter, put more honey in. If you want something less sweet, use less honey.

Step 2: Dehydrate the Strawberry-Honey Blend

Pour out the strawberry-honey blend onto the trays of the dehydrator. Remember two important rules, however. One, this is a liquid you're pouring. Make sure the trays have flat inserts with no holes. You can make a real mess of things if you try to put in a tray with holes.

And two, spray the trays with a cooking spray to prevent the strawberry leather from sticking once it's dried. It's a nightmare getting off otherwise.

Step 3: Wait

This is the hardest part. You wait. I typically let it run overnight and by morning, the strawberry leather is ready. I run the dehydrator at around 140°. Your whole kitchen will smell like wonderful strawberries! It's done when the strawberries have a leathery texture. If you dry it too much, it becomes brittle and not nearly as good. (Still edible, just not as good.)

Step 4: Package Strawberry Leather

Let the strawberry leather cool to room temperature, then slice it and dice it to your preferred dimensions. Most people roll it up like a fruit rollup, but for on the trail, I prefer stacking them flat. It doesn't need to be refrigerated—I've eaten them on my thru-hikes months after it was prepared. I'm sure they have expiration dates, but I've never found one! For trail use, I store them in ZipLock bags. At home, you can roll them up and store them in old jars. Whatever is most convenient for you.