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We’ve been making lots of these Foot Long Fruit Roll ups lately. After my son asked, “Why don’t you make all the stuff on your blog for us more often?” I realized that in an effort to come up with new ideas, I had gotten away from the tried and true recipes my sons love.
But my fruit roll up recipe calls for berries and with summer winding down and organic berry prices going up, I couldn’t bring myself to puree those beautiful baskets of berries and dry them into foot long strips. So I improvised and turned bags of frozen organic berries into trays of Foot Long Fruit Roll ups. Apparently, the kids like them even better so we scored in budget AND taste!
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THE COMPARISON: Fruit by the Foot Strawberry vs. Out of the Box Food Frozen Berry Fruit Roll ups
(All ingredients followed by an * can be referenced at www.wikipedia.org by clicking on the ingredient)
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FRUIT BY THE FOOT – STRAWBERRY by BETTY CROCKER
Ingredients:
- pears from concentrate
- sugar
- maltodextrin*
- water
- corn syrup*
- partially hydrogenated* cottonseed oil
- Contains 2 % or less of:
- carrageenan*
- citric acid
- acetylated mono* and diglycerides
- sodium citrate
- malic acid*
- xanthan gum*
- locust bean gum*
- vitamin c (ascorbic acid)
- potassium citrate*
- natural flavor
- color (yellow 5*, red 40*, blue 1*) – also see article: Do Food Dyes affect kids’ Behavior and other related articles under RELEVANT READS!!
**All listed product ingredients are taken from product’s package label. Though Out of the Box Food makes every effort to provide complete ingredient information, please check the package for the most current information.
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Out of the Box FoodSM Foot Long Frozen Berry Roll ups
SERVES: Makes 12, 2″ x 14″ roll ups
TIME: Prep- 10 min
Drying time – 4 1/2 – 6 1/2 hours w/convection oven OR 8-10 hours with standard oven (drying time depends on thickness of the puree)
SUPPLIES: blender, 2 12″x17″ jelly roll pans (cookie sheets w/ raised edges), parchment paper
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 10 oz packages organic frozen berries (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry or combination)
- 1/4 C agave nectar
- butter for greasing
DIRECTIONS:
- cut parchment paper to fit and lay into jelly roll pans
- grease parchment with butter
- defrost berries and place in blender
- add agave nectar to berries and blend until well pureed
- divide mixture evenly between the two jelly roll pans and spread thin with a rubber spatula
- heat oven to 150 degrees (do not heat higher than this or you may cook the fruit as opposed to drying) If you have a convection oven, use this setting to speed up drying process.
- place jelly roll pans in 150 degree oven.
- when fruit is dry and no longer sticky to the touch (4 1/2-6 1/2 hours for convection oven or 8-12 hours standard oven – depending on the thickness of the puree), remove from oven and cut fruit with parchment still attached into 2″ strips. Roll each strip around a pencil and place in airtight container (if your kids don’t gobble them up first like mine did!)
*Drying Tip Time Saver: Prepare puree in the morning and refrigerate. While preparing dinner, pour puree onto prepared baking sheets and pop into oven after dinner. Turn the oven off before bed and leave the fruit roll ups until morning. They should be ready to pack in your kids lunch boxes.
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Hi, i was planning on making fruit roll ups today but i have a huge bag of frozen fruit. Do you know how many cups of fruit exactly.
Hi Andrea,
I’m sorry for the late reply. It depends on what kind of fruit your using (more blueberries will fit into a cup than strawberries). That being said, it really doesn’t need to be exact. You want to have enough fruit puree to coat the parchment between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If you end up with extra puree, make another batch! The thicker the puree, the longer it will take to dry. Hope that helps!
I’m in Australia and not thinking very clearly with baby brain I put the oven on 150 degrees Celcius! They were only in with it on for 20 minutes before I turned it off so I’ll check them when the oven has cooled and then try 150 farenheit and see how long it takes with some initial over heating.
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I made these last night/this morning using strawberries, homemade applesauce, and bananas all from the freezer (fresh fruit I had frozen during the summer), no additional sweetner, and my kids LOVE them. Mine did dry out a bit too much but I think I left them in the oven a bit too long. LOVE that I have a great new way to use up all the frozen fruit in my freezer. My children don’t seem to like the texture of the fruit after it’s been frozen. I see all sorts of flavors in our future. Thanks!
Since Agave Nectar is over-processed, do you think honey would work as a substitute in this recipe?
Most definitely. If the fruit is sweet enough, you can also make it without any sweetener at all.
Hi! Thank you for sharing this. I saw a picture of a wedding cake on Pinterest the other day that used Fruit Rollups as rosette decorations. I thought, how awesome! And so colorful. I wanted to see if there was a quick way to homemake the fruit rollups, and here you are! These would be perfect as a substitute, and making these yourself gives you the option of so many other colors (and textures!) if you don’t want the bright Fruit Rollup colors.
Hi, my kids like fruit rool ups but prefer fruit snacks instead. Do you think that if I use a candy tray (with shapes) that they would dry ok and have a good texture for fruit snacks? Or any other ideas for fruit snacks?
Hey Trisha! I have been making my own fruit snacks for almost a year now. Huge hit in my house and also with all of my nieces and nephew.
It’s very simple… the longest amount of time is the waiting game, waiting for them to settle…
Are you ready for this?
1 (3 oz) package gelatin, any flavor
2 (.25 oz) envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/3 c. water
Directions:
Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Pour into molds and allow to set at least 20 minutes.
*** I use ice cube trays that I found on clearance, I have stars, moons, and standard ice cube trays… I fill them only half full or even a little less than that so they are easier to eat and you get more!
*** I have also used the sugar free jello to keep down on the cavities of the little ones 🙂
THIS IS ANOTHER RECIPE I FOUND FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF FRUIT BY THE FOOT TYPE…
Gelatin Pinwheel/ Fruity Roll-Ups
1 (3 oz.) pkg. jello
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch pan square pan with non-stick cooking spray and make sure it is spread well.
Stir together water and jello powder in a glass bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Remove bowl and stir well making sure jello is dissolved. If necessary, return to microwave for 20 seconds or so to make sure jello is dissolved and stir again.
Add marshmallows and return to microwave for 20-40 seconds or until marshmallows have just begun to puff. This is the key to a successful marshmallow layer! If you over cook the marshmallows, they just dissolve and your roll-up will not have two distinct layers.
Whisk quickly until marshmallows are dissolved.
Pour quickly into prepared pan and chill in fridge for 45 minutes or until well set. Creamy layer will float to the top.
Remove the pan from fridge. At this point, the jello should be very firm and easy to handle. Gently pull one side away from pan and lift entire sheet onto counter. Starting at one end, roll up tightly. With seam side down, cut into 10-12 (1/2) inch slices. We found it easiest to cut with a piece of thread or dental floss. Just put the string around roll-up, cross and pull.
Thanks, Amy, for jumping on and sharing your recipe for fruit snacks with Trisha! Trisha, I have not made fruit snacks as of yet, but would imagine by their consistency that they would contain gelatin as Amy suggested. That being said, it would be great to learn how to make these using fresh fruit puree. Has anyone else tried making fruit snacks using fresh, pureed fruit? If so, we’d love to hear how you made them!
I haven’t made fruit snacks, but I have made gelatin using just unflavored gelatin and real fruit juice. (Well, okay, and a *little* sugar because it was orange juice and OJ is pretty tart.) So I think you could cut out the flavored gelatin altogether and just use fruit juice and gelatin. You just, obviously, want more gelatin than you’d use if you were making a regular Jell-O-type consistency. Fruit purée might work, too, but I would personally start with juice and then, if that worked well, try substituting purée for part or all of it.
For “regular” gelatin, you’d use 1 Tbsp. gelatin per 2 c. liquid. Double that for “jigglers.” So maybe quadruple that for fruit snacks? (I mean double the original, so 1 Tbsp. gelatin per 1/2 c. liquid.)
sounds amazing, but i was wondering if i could just omit the sweetener all togeather
as md little one is well not the biggest sweets fan (seriosly, she wants vegies over sweets. guess i shouldent complain lol)
just looking for something fun and nut free for daycare
Yes, definitely!
Just made these last night with strawberries, blueberries, and local honey (SO great for kids’ allergies). My oven only goes down to 170 degrees, so I cooked them for three hours, turned off the oven, and left them in overnight with the oven off. Turned out GREAT and were ready for my daughter’s packed school lunch. Love that they’re easy and all-natural. Thanks!
Do you happen to know what the nutritional facts are these?
My children would love them but not sure how to count the carbs them.
Unfortunately I do not have a nutritional breakdown for my recipes. If that changes at any point I will be sure to let you know. Thank you!
It’s not too hard to figure calories…especially if you are using frozen berries, because all the calories and carbs are on the bag. If you add agave nector or honey its the same. Just total all the calories/carb in your ingredients and divide by the number of servings your batch makes! Easy peasy! Online there is also calorie – counterhttp://caloriecount.about.com/ and the carb counter – http://www.carbohydrate-counter.org/ Both very helpful. But if your kids are healthy and fit, just consider one of these a fruit and veg serving with lunch.
I found a 24 oz. bottle for 4.99 at Kroger nbeary the sugar. It was not available in the local ethnic grocery stores that I usually find tex-mex items. The caloric content is 120 per serving, 2 tbsp, and that is the same as honey. Compared to 30 calories for 2 tbsp listed on my granulated cane sugar. I’m wondering, how does this compare being a low gylcemix index product? I like the idea of not using artificial sweetners, but don’t you think the calories are a bit much, compared with table sugar? I’d say 2 tbsp of agave in my coffee is equal to packs of sugar, can’t tell the difference in taste, but I now have taken in 110 calories more than I intended to. Do those low glycemic index calories count the same?
I tried to put it through my recipe software, but my software doesn’t recognize agave nectar. With HONEY (and strawberries, ’cause I just picked a berry type), it says the whole batch would be 456.09 calories; 121.6g total carbs; 95.45g sugars; 12.08g dietary fiber. I know that’s not quite the same as it would be with the agave, but maybe it’s close enough to give you an idea?
Hi,
Great recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
One thing I would highly recommend everyone is to stay away from agave because it has such a high concentration of fructose (way more than the commonly demonized high fructose corn syrup) and the artificial chemical processes used to manufacture it. Here’s a link if you don’t believe me: http://www.kimberlysnyder.net/blog/2012/08/15/what-everyone-ought-to-know-about-fructose/
I would suggest using maple syrup or honey instead.
Hi Karla, Thank you for the comments on agave. This recipe was created before I began reading about the agave controversy. I too now utilize raw sugar, honey and maple syrup as my primary sweeteners. I have yet to make this particular recipe with honey or maple syrup but will adjust it when I do. Thanks again.
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I made these over the night, and the raspberries turned out great, only problem…. it’s sticking to the wax paper like crazy. Any tips on getting them off without ruining the fruit?
You need to use parchment paper not wax I figured that out the hard way I did not relize that parchment and wax paper where different but they are.
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If you oven doesn’t go low enough they can also be done in an inexpensive dehydrator
you have to use parchment paper not wax paper I figured that out the hard way also I thought wax and parchment where the same thing but they are not.:) you can find it in the same place at your grocer though.
sorry wrong spot lol Im sick today and my head its loopy lol
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My kids love fruit snacks and fruit rollups, however they are both autistic and don’t like the seedy texture of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries (though they love the flavors and the fruits themselves….they won’t eat seedy fruit rollups…we’ve tried and tried) can we substitute with other fruits like peaches? Also, is there a way to maybe strain the fruit to keep the seeds from getting in there without losing the agave?? Any advice is helpful I’m always happy to get my kids a healthy alternative to their favorite unhealthy snacks
You could definitely strain the puree to eliminate the seeds. The agave (or you could also use honey) is just to add a little sweetness. I haven’t make it with peaches yet but plan to. I think peaches and apricots would be amazing! Blueberries are also seedless and make a smooth roll up. Let us know if you give it a try!
Maybe I spread my mixture too thin, because mine came out crispy. Not bad, but not what I expected. Thoughts?
Hi Emily – A few things could cause the roll ups to come out crispy: 1) oven temp too high 2) fruit puree too thin or 3) baked too long. I would try them again the same thickness but see if you can turn the oven temperature lower, and start checking them a bit earlier to see if they’re done. They should be sticky, but not wet. Let me know how round two goes!
Thank you for this! My boys love fruit roll ups but are allergic to red dye. I will be making this with them this week. Let you know how it turns out. 🙂
My old gas oven goes only as low as 180 degrees F–do you know if this will be too hot to dry the fruit purees for the homemade fruit rollups? Our family is part of the Feingold Association of America (www.feingold.org)–no petrol-based dyes/flavors/preservatives–and your recipe looks fabulous! Would love it if my oven will allow me to make these for my four kids.
It’s definitely worth a try. A couple of options: I don’t know the age of your child but only if it’s safe you could crack the oven door to cool it down a bit. Another option is a food dehydrator if you have one of those. The goal is to dry the puree slow and low. Let me know how they turn out for you!
My oven only goes to 170 degrees. I place a spoon in between the oven and the door to crack the oven door (I place the spoon over the button for the light so the light is not on for hours). Anyway, I cook mine 4-5 hours. Hope this helps.
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I read that Silpats work well. I’m going to try it with those since I’m out of parchment!
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Can’t wait to try this but I don’t use parchment paper. Do you think I could ensure the pan is well greased then transfer to wax paper after cooled to roll?
Hi Eileen – Hmmm…I’m not quite sure. You could certainly try it. I have only made these using parchment which works really well. If you try it, without, let us all know how it goes. I’ll be interested to hear! Thanks for the comment.
Tried them last night! They came off the pan with ease but would have been easier with the parchment paper. They taste great! Thank you for the recipe!
These sound great? Is there any reason not to use fresh fruit instead of frozen?
Hi Ressa – No reason at all! This recipe actually came from my original recipe which uses fresh fruit (http://outoftheboxfood.com/2010/09/12/corn-syrup-roll-up-wheres-the-fruit/). The frozen fruit is a great alternative in the colder months when fresh is not available or if frozen is all we have on hand. Thanks for the comment!
So, I tried this last night. I left mine in my 150 degree oven for 9 hours (on) and sitting there once the oven turned off for another few hours. Mine is not dry. Should I just turn the oven back on? Will they be completely dry when they are finished?
I’m so sorry it didn’t dry in the 9 + hours! How thick was the puree? It should come out dry but not brittle. Depending on size of your baking sheet, the thickness of the puree, and the amount of moisture in the berries drying time will definitely vary. I realized now that the size of my baking sheets/jello roll pans may be different than others. Mine are fairly large. You don’t want the edges to brown and crisp but it should be dry. If there are still wet spots, I would keep it in the 150 degree oven until dry.
Okay, so I figured out that my error was in that I somehow missed the part where this makes two jelly roll pan batches, and I had squeezed all of mine into one jelly roll pan. So, it did finally dry out after about 15+ hours. Do you know about how long these keep? I have them in an airtight container, but am hoping to make and save them for my daughter’s under the sea party; they are going to be seaweed rolls.
Oh, good! I’m glad it worked out! I’ve never been able to keep ours for longer than a week because they’re always gobbled up! I would think if you kept them away from air they should last quite a while. Has anyone else tested this out and can answer Marcy?
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Has anyone tried bananas as a sweetenework as wellr? I have some frozen mangoes and strawberries. Do you think bananas would work as well?
Trying them as we speak, thanks for posting!
I was wondering if you have ever tried sneaking in vegetables? My daughter doesn’t eat many of them so I have been trying to figure out how to sneak in others that she won’t eat. I was thinking maybe some spinach or something. I figure the sweet taste of the fruit and nectar would cover up the taste of the veggies.
Hi Jessica,
I haven’t made these with veggies but I will! I think you could use an assortment of veggies such as spinach, butternut squash, sweet potato, beets, etc… I’ll definitely post here on Out of the Box Food when I’ve tried it, but please let me know if you give it a try – Thanks for the comment!
Could rice syrup be used as a sweetener?
Hi Melissa – I’ve never used rice syrup but from what I know about it I think it would work fine. I think you could use just a bit and it would be plenty. Thanks!
I have been meaning to try this with pumpkin puree. I have loads of it in my freezer. I will add agave and pumpkin pie spices. I’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂
Great idea! Please do let me know how it goes! If you have lots of pumpkin purée and you’re looking for other ways to use it, you could also try our Pumpkin Pasties (http://outoftheboxfood.com/2010/10/31/happy-halloween-a-few-treats-for-your-pumpkins/), pumpkin waffles (http://outoftheboxfood.com/2011/06/30/whole-wheat-flax-pumpkin-waffles/) or pumpkin muffins (http://outoftheboxfood.com/2011/10/16/pumpkin-muffins-a-fall-breakfast-treat/). I’ll look forward to hearing how the pumpkin roll ups turn out!
do you have to use agave nector or could I use something like apricot? Wasn’t sure if there was something in the agave that made it all work.
thanks
Hi Candy- the agave nectar is just used as a bit of sweetener without adding additional flavor. If the fruit is really sweet you could just omit it or you could use a little honey if you like the flavor that would add. I’d just experiment with ingredients to your taste. Enjoy!
Have you ever tried using peaches? That’s my fav fruit, I don’t see why not, juthest curious 🙂 and thanks for the awesome idea!
Hi Cassondra- I haven’t tried peaches but I’m sure they would be amazing! I might add a squeeze of lemon to the puréed fruit (just as you would with making jam) to preserve the color. I’ll plan on trying peaches too once summer is here! Thanks for the comment!
My oven only goes down to 170 degrees would that still work or would it be to hot?
Hi Anna – I haven’t tried 170 degrees but I think that should be fine. Just watch it carefully and if it seems to start browning around the edges, turn it off and let it sit in the warm oven. Thanks for the comment!
Anna, have you tried it at 170 degrees? My oven only goes that low too and I was wondering if it worked ok for you?
I have tried doing this with all sorts of different pureed fruit. It works wonderfully well. My personal favorite is pears and figs with some cinnamon and honey. 🙂
Pears, figs, cinnamon an honey…yum! I’m goin to give that a try. Thanks!
I have food dehydrators that have fruit roll up trays, do you think this would work in those?
Oh yes! You’re quite lucky to have that tool!
I find that most of the time I do not need to add any sweetener at all…if the berries are a little tart after cooking them I add a 1/4 cup of applesauce. My kids love this( found it on a different site before and I love that you do suggest a natural sweetener though!)
Kim, I can’t wait to try this (I know I already told you that on Twitter 🙂 ) but am so glad now to know you tried frozen berries too. We have an abundance of blackberries, strawberries and blueberries in the freezer that really need to be used up. We’re getting tired of the muffins and cobblers I’ve been making with them. Question, can you sub honey for the agave nectar? Maybe just use a little less? I am putting this on my to try list soon–may try to make for an upcoming camping trip!
Thanks, Brenda! You could definitely substitute honey. In fact, I actually believe agave is a bit sweeter so you could use less honey. Honestly you don’t need much, it just gives it a hint of extra sweetness against any tart berries.
Have you ever tried with other fruits, like pears or mangoes or ??? We can’t do berries….
I haven’t tried anything other than berries…yet. I would try pureeing the fruit really well then drying it the same way. If you give it a try and let me know how it goes and I’ll do the same!
Wow, didn’t realize it was so easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
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