Making Fruit Leather from Hedgerow Berries

Why Hedgerow Berries Make Wonderful Fruit Leather

There is something deeply satisfying about turning a basket of hedgerow berries into something that fits in a coat pocket. Fruit leather — sometimes called fruit roll or fruit taffy — is one of the oldest ways to preserve a glut. You cook the fruit, sieve it, sweeten it lightly, spread it thinly and dry it slowly until it becomes a pliable, chewy sheet. The result is a concentrated taste of autumn: sharp, sweet, faintly wild.

For lunchboxes, walks and picnics, fruit leather is hard to beat. It needs no fridge, weighs almost nothing and keeps for weeks in an airtight tin. It is also a brilliant way to use up berries that are too seedy, too tart or too fiddly to eat fresh. Elderberries, haws, rosehips and rowan berries all come into their own once cooked and blended with a little apple or honey.

What to Forage and When

Britain's hedgerows offer a rolling harvest from late summer into early winter. The best fruit leathers use a mixture of berries and a little apple or crab apple for pectin and body.

• Blackberries — August to October. The easiest and most rewarding. Pick plump, deep purple fruit and avoid any with white or brown patches.
• Elderberries — September. Strip the berries from the stalks with a fork. They must be cooked thoroughly and never eaten raw.
• Hawthorn haws — September to October. Mealy raw but excellent cooked and sieved. They have a mild, apple-like flavour.
• Rowan berries — August to October. High in pectin and very tart. Use sparingly with sweeter fruit.
• Rosehips — September to November. Rich in vitamin C. Halve and sieve carefully to remove the irritating hairs around the seeds.
• Sloes and damsons — October to November. Sloes are mouth-puckeringly astringent; a few added to apple or blackberry make a grown-up leather.

Safe and Sensible Foraging

• Identify every berry with absolute certainty before it goes in your basket. If in doubt, leave it out.
• Avoid busy roads, railway embankments, sprayed fields and any hedge that may have been treated with pesticides.
• Pick above dog height and wash your harvest well at home.
• Leave plenty for birds, insects and small mammals. Take a little from many bushes rather than stripping one.
• Use a basket or cotton bag, not a plastic bag, so the fruit does not sweat and mould.
• Wear gloves and long sleeves for thorny hedges, and watch for nettles and brambles.

Making the Puree

You will need about 1kg of prepared fruit, 1–2 tablespoons of honey, and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. For every 500g of berries, add one small chopped apple or a handful of crab apples if you want a firmer set. Honey is not suitable for infants under one year; use maple syrup or a little sugar instead.

• Wash the fruit, remove stalks, leaves and any bruised or mouldy berries.
• Put the fruit in a heavy pan with a splash of water. Cook gently until soft and collapsing, stirring often.
• Push the cooked fruit through a fine sieve or a mouli to remove seeds, skins and pips. For rosehips, this step is essential.
• Return the puree to a clean pan. Add honey and lemon juice. Cook gently for 5–10 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Taste and adjust. Remember the leather will taste sweeter once dried, so keep it slightly sharp.

Drying and Finishing Your Leather

Heat your oven to its lowest setting, around 50–60°C, or use a dehydrator at 55°C. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or greaseproof paper.

• Spread the puree 3–4mm thick. Too thin and it will crack; too thick and it will stay sticky in the middle.
• Dry for 4–8 hours, rotating the tray now and then. If using an oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon to let moisture escape.
• The leather is ready when it is tacky but not sticky, and peels away cleanly from the paper.
• Cut into strips with scissors or a pizza wheel. Roll each strip in greaseproof paper or dust lightly with cornflour to stop sticking.
• Store in an airtight tin for up to a month, or in the fridge for three months. For longer storage, freeze between layers of paper.

Flavour Variations and Storing the Harvest

Once you have the basic method, the hedgerow is your flavour palette. Blackberry and apple is the classic. Elderberry and apple makes a deep, almost wine-like leather. Hawthorn and rosehip is tangy and bright. Rowan and crab apple is sharp and grown-up. A pinch of cinnamon, a grating of orange zest or a few crushed fennel seeds can lift a plain fruit leather without overpowering it.

If you have more puree than trays, pour it into sterilised jars and keep it in the fridge as a hedgerow butter for toast, yoghurt or porridge. And if the autumn glut is overwhelming, remember that fruit leather is generous: 1kg of berries makes only a few small sheets, so a little goes a long way. Label your tins with the fruit and the date, then enjoy a taste of the hedgerow on every walk and in every lunchbox.