The abundance of Autumn Olive berries near my home made for an easy harvest this season.  The shrub is locally invasive and aggressively crowds out native plants so consuming the lycopene rich fruit without concern for over picking is encouraged.  . These two mason jarfuls of the tart berries were made into fruit leather.

Here are the steps that I used to make Autumn Olive Fruit Leather.

1. Simmer the berries with a touch of water for about 10 minutes until most of them pop. You can help speed it up by mashing them as they heat.
2. Strain all the pulp and juice through cheese cloth to separate the seeds or preferably use a food mill for a much faster result (the berries are edible and are not a concern if any pieces make it into the fruit leather. I haven’t tried it myself but would like to try a batch with the seeds thoroughly blended into the fruit leather).
3. Add a tablespoon of honey for taste.  You can also add apple or grapes at step 1 to sweeten the flavor naturally.
4. Dehydrate the mix on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper at 140F until ready (or use trays on a dehydrator). It’ll take a good few hours depending on the thickness of your fruit leather.

For a ten minute video that covers identification, picking and the recipe click here.