Nutrition
| Per 100 g | Per 1 oz (28 g) | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 287 kcal | 81 kcal |
| Protein | 7 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 1 g | 0.3 g |
| saturated | 0.1 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrate | 58.4 g | 16.6 g |
| sugars | 51.7 g | 14.7 g |
| Fibre | 9.2 g | 2.6 g |
| Sodium | 53 mg | 15 mg |
Estimated from the ingredients, for the finished dried product. Actual values vary with the produce you use and how far you dry it.
Ingredients
- 3.2 kg dried goji berries
- 48 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 3 cups honey
Instructions
- Soak the goji berries in a cup of water for an hour and keep the water. Most of the colour and a good share of the sweetness leaves the berry and ends up in the soak.
- Check they have softened by squeezing one — it should crush to pulp between two fingers. Dried goji can be very tough, and a berry that resists will survive the blender as a chewy speck.
- Blend the berries, their soaking liquid, the applesauce and the honey until nothing granular is left. Goji skins are thin but stubborn, and a long blend is the only way to lose them.
- The purée should run off a spoon like thick cream. Stiffer than that and it sets into ridges as you spread it; looser and it runs off the edges of the tray.
- Pour it onto a solid sheet and tip the tray until it flows level, leaving a finger of bare sheet all round. This leather is soft, and the dry margin is what you grip to peel it.
- Dry at 57 °C for 7 hours. Goji carries a lot of natural sugar and the sheet stays faintly tacky even when it is finished, so do not chase a surface that feels bone dry.
- It is done when you can lift the whole sheet off in one piece and it holds its own weight without stretching. A sheet that tears as it comes up wants another hour.
- Cut it into strips, roll each in paper, and keep them jarred for two months. Honey and fruit sugar together pull damp out of the air, so a cupboard suits this and a fridge does not — condensation is the enemy here, not warmth.
