Quamar-el-Deen
(Dried Apricot Leather) Recipe

Origin: Middle East      Period: Traditional

Fruit leathers are an excellent way of preserving certain fruit for later use in the year. Leathers are dissolved to make drinks in the Middle East and are also used as the basis for fruit desserts or they can be eaten as sweets (candies), making them much more versatile than you think. This recipe is for a classic recipe using dried apricots that preserves the fruit's essential flavour and sweetness in the leather. This is a traditional fruit leather made from dried apricots that forms the basis of the Egyptian drink, Amar-el-Deen (Apricot Leather Drink) and the Bahrainian dessert Qamar-el-Deen (Apricot Leather Dessert). There is a lot of sugar in this recipe, which is traditional, but you can adjust to your own taste.

Ingredients:

300g dried apricots
2 tbsp honey
50g light brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Quamar-el-Deen
(Dried Apricot Leather) Preparation:

Method:

Chop the apricots very finely then place in a bowl. Pour over just enough boiling water to cover then set aside to soften for at least 6 hours, or over night.

Place the apricots and their soaking liquid in a pan and make up to 700ml with water then add the sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the fruit are completely soft. Take off the heat and set aside to cool a little then transfer to a blender, add the honey and lemon juice and purée until smooth then pass through a fine-meshed sieve to remove any large pieces of skin (press down with the back of a spoon to get the most liquid out). You should end up with about 600ml of purée.

Now line a baking tray with heat-proof clingfilm (the kind you can microwave). Note that an average baking tray (about 30cm x 42cm) will hold about 500ml of purée.

Add the purée to the covered baking tray, spread evenly with a spatula (you want a depth of about 4mm) then place in an oven pre-heated to 140°C. Place the baking tray in the oven but leave the door ajar (you want the steam to escape, as you are drying the leather) and cook for about 6 hours, or until the fruit leather is very dry. The exact drying time will depend on the sugar levels, the more sugar the longer it will take to dry.

The leather must be completely dry, or it will not keep. To ensure the leather is dry simply try to pull it away from the clingfilm (plastic wrap). If it comes away easily and holds its shape then it is dry (make sure its not too dry though, as then it will crumble bit it can still be eaten as a candy).

To store, cover the fruit leather in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and roll loosely. Place in a clean, dry container and seal (I typically use a pasta jar with a bung). It will keep in the store cupboard for between 4 and 12 months or you can refrigerate and keep even longer.

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