At the Farmer’s Market, $5 lighter and 30 pounds heavier, I left with a box of imperfect pluots and apples. I realized I had quite a bit of fruit I didn’t know what to do with. But that’s the beauty of scrap cooking! It encourages your creative side to make the most out of whatever’s on hand. I broke in my dehydrator on 3 rounds of apples and decided fruit leather would be an easy, delicious solution for my surplus squishy pluots. I love fruit leather! It’s flavorful, in theory lasts for a while (not in this house), and is super simple!
Fruit leathers at the grocery store come in quite a bit of non-recyclable packaging. These are a really convenient snack for on the go but I felt like there was a better, zero-waste way to approach this. I’ve since stopped purchasing fruit leathers from the store and love that I’ve found an easy way to use up overripe, extra, or imperfect fruit. Pluots have a great texture and tart sweetness that is perfect for dried fruit.
I realize not everyone has a dehydrator, but I’ve found quite a few communities online with members who are happy to share! Instead of taking up space in your own kitchen, borrow someone else’s. A few places to try looking:
- Buy Nothing Facebook groups
- Nextdoor app / asking your neighbors
- Kitchen Shares (a kitchen tool library, this one is in NE Portland)
Do you have a favorite fruit leather flavor?
Let me know if you try this! #closedloopcooking
Stay hungry,
Hawnuh Lee
Closed Loop Cooking
