Fruit Leathers

It is common in the tropics to get a plentiful harvest of fruits during season and a considerable proportion rotting away due to inadequate processing and handling technologies at the farm. The consequences include loss of revenue and nourishment as well as seasons of scarcity acompanied by elevated prices for the little produce available on the market. However, simple and affordable drying technologies and processing can help curb the losses by transforming some of the fruits into products such as fruit leathers. This work evaluated the applicability of solar drying for the production of fruit leathers in a tropical setting. Jackfruit, a relatively common and industrially unutilized product was used as a case study. We have reviewed the handling of jackfruit, the processing of fruit leathers, their quality aspects and the drying technologies used for leather production. Emphasis was placed on the adoption of solar drying for leather production. We evaluated the influence of solar drying on the quality and acceptability of jack fruit leather. This work can serve as an important guideline for those involved, and interested, in developing and improving solar dried fruit leathers.