Raw Mango 'Fruit Roll-ups'

Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved a boy. This boy used to have a beautiful bistro that churned out lots of yummy dishes using local ingredients.

One of these ingredients was the coveted Julie mango.

Now here in Trinidad, most of the time local fruits tend to be more expensive than their imported counterparts.

After some time, the girl and the boy separated. The boy and his bistro parted ways also. But the boy generously gave the girl a gift from his bistro.

Lots and lots of julie mango puree.

Well, the girl had a time with this puree.

I developed these mango leathers for a Caribbean Foods demonstration just under 2 months ago. But it's mango season here right now so it was only fitting that I bring back these classics.

Aren't they prits? #nofilter hahaha

Full dehydrator!!

So I did 4 different types of mango leathers. From the top --> mango papaya, mango acai peach, mango pina colada and plain julie mango.

First we gotta start with the mango puree.

1 julie mango will yield roughly 1 cup of mango pulp. Maybe a little more but there can never be too much mango!! Just cut the fruit into chunks and blend until smooth. Try not to let the blender run for too long as the heat could compromise the nutrient content of the fruit.

Basically if you plan on filling a dehydrator with this goodness, I do suggest finding a mango tree. Or a friend who is very generous with her fruit.

Here we go :)

RAW MANGO 'FRUIT ROLL-UPS'

Yields 2 trays --> exact roll yield depends on how wide you cut them.
Roughly about 6 rolls per tray

Ingredients
4 cups of mango puree (about a blender full)

Preparation
Lay out Paraflexx sheets or Silpats on the dehydrator trays. 
Evenly divide the puree between the trays and spread as flat as possible until about 1/8th of an inch thick (an offset spatula is pretty handy for this).
Turn on the dehydrator to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. They do dry faster on higher temperatures but to ensure that these stay raw and vitamin rich, keep it as low as possible. 
Leave to dry for about 8 to 10 hours. Or longer depending on the thickness of the puree spread. The leather is done when totally dry to the touch.
If the bottom is still wet, flip and leave for a couple more hours.
Try not to eat the whole thing before it's through drying ;)
Turn off the heat and while it's still warm, cut into long strips with a scissors. 

Notes
Try to keep a little 'well' in the middle of the spread puree. In other words, let the edges of the spread be thicker than the middle. This is to encourage even drying as the edges dry faster.
I like to dry leathers overnight to avoid snacking on the dried bits. They are so good!!

If you don't own a dehydrator, fear not!! Leathers can also be made in the oven on the lowest setting (usually 175 degrees Fahrenheit) and with the oven door cracked open for circulation. It stores for a pretty long time in airtight packaging. But if you're a chronic snacker, I bet it wouldn't last more than a few days.

Looks pretty darn yummy eh? This is the mango papaya.

VARIATIONS

Mango Papaya

2 cups mango puree

2 cups papaya chunks

Mango Pina Colada

2 cups mango puree

1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks

1/2 cup coconut manna

Mango Acai Peach

2 cups mango puree

1 1/2 cup peach chunks (the riper the better!!)
1/2 cup acai powder (I use this one)

Notes

I like to use up the really soft fruit bits that no one seems to want to eat to make fruit leathers. Even overripe bananas make fantastically sweet leathers that kids can't seem to get enough of.

Sa7ten!!