Raw Bar Questions!

[canyontothesky]

Hi, everyone, I just joined after lurking for a few days!

I ordered a dehydrator yesterday, so it should be shipping tomorrow and arriving later next week. But I still have a few questions with regards to it and I hope you all can answer, I'm very confused!

- I want to make fruit bars. The kind you get in the store, that are held together nicely and are slightly sticky. I make juice a lot which leaves me with a ton of pulp. Should I puree it further and make leather (does fruit pulp even make good leather?) or can I use it in a bar?

- What do you need to add to get that glossiness that you often see, or does it come naturally?

- Do you always have to have a nut/seed base in order for it to stick together? You can't do all fruit?

- If I already have dried goji berries or raisins, can I still use them in a bar? They won't, erm.. over dry it? heh

- Are you never supposed to soak/sprout nuts before using them in bars?

- The other day I tried to make a bar without realizing that you needed a dehydrator. I mixed soaked cashew pulp with some other stuff, and it made this wet mess. Would that work if it were dehydrated?

- Links to recipes that don't require dehydration, but that still make really firm bars in the fridge?

Thanks everyone!!

[juliebove]

Sorry but every time I see this post I think of oysters. I lived on Cape Cod for a while and the "raw bars" there were places where you could get raw oysters. I had the misfortune of going into one once because husband insisted. Luckily we ate in the restaurant part because I wouldn't have been able to stomach the other part.

Anyway... I don't know about using pulp. I've never had it. I've never really tried to make a bar either, although I did make some cookies when I first got my dehydrator. I made some sort of batter but can't remember now exactly what all I put in it. I do remember that there was some orange juice and dried bits of fruit. It was a rather runny batter but it firmed up after being in there all night.

I have seen reference to bars somewhere here. Maybe you could do a search for it?

I have made RP's brownies and they don't require a dehydrator. They are just dates, nuts and chocolate, processed in the food processor, then pressed into a pan and refrigerated. I'm sure you could do the same without the chocolate, maybe adding some other sort of fruit for additional flavor or even some coconut.

[RawSar]

Hi, everyone, I just joined after lurking for a few days!

I ordered a dehydrator yesterday, so it should be shipping tomorrow and arriving later next week. But I still have a few questions with regards to it and I hope you all can answer, I'm very confused!

- I want to make fruit bars. The kind you get in the store, that are held together nicely and are slightly sticky. I make juice a lot which leaves me with a ton of pulp. Should I puree it further and make leather (does fruit pulp even make good leather?) or can I use it in a bar?

- What do you need to add to get that glossiness that you often see, or does it come naturally?

- Do you always have to have a nut/seed base in order for it to stick together? You can't do all fruit?

- If I already have dried goji berries or raisins, can I still use them in a bar? They won't, erm.. over dry it? heh

- Are you never supposed to soak/sprout nuts before using them in bars?

- The other day I tried to make a bar without realizing that you needed a dehydrator. I mixed soaked cashew pulp with some other stuff, and it made this wet mess. Would that work if it were dehydrated?

- Links to recipes that don't require dehydration, but that still make really firm bars in the fridge?

Thanks everyone!!


Glossiness - Comes naturally
You can definitely do all fruit - it will stick together. It would be kinda like a thick fruit leather right?
Dried goji berries and raisins you will want to soak them first at least 20min, they will blend much better! same with dates.
You want to soak the nuts and seeds as well over night

I have never tried to make them without a dehydrator. Sorry I can't help you there. But I think as long as theres a lot of raisins and or dates it should stick together ?

[michigan roman]

an alissa non dehy bar , dont quote me on amounts ;)

half walnuts , half raisins coarse ground in blender . press into like square pyrex dish at a thickness of around 3/4" .

cup o water / say 8 dry dates / juice of half a lemon , blend til a frosting consistancy . frost crust mixture , refridgerate or freeze a few hours .
cut up like brownies , mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :p

[klomasius]

You can definitely make raw bars without a dehydrator.

Think of it like a mathematic equation.

Solid dryish raw bar = some wet ingredients (fruit, soaked nuts, dates, etc) + at least two thirds dry ingredients (gojis, dessicated coconut, dry seeds and nuts, dry fruit etc.).

I make raw bars when I get the time, wrap them in grease proof paper and freeze them till needed (packed lunches, outings...)

I'm not a great recipe person, so I just chuck in some nuts (dry or soaked and dried), dates, coconut, dried fruit, seeds such as sunflower, and maybe some sprouted dried buckwheat, and other stuff into a food processor and blend it till the right consistency.

If it is too runny, add more dry stuff. Too solid? Add more wet stuff.

As Julie mentioned, RPs brownies is a good place to start, if you don't want to have it that fudgey, try adding things like dried coconut.

Experiment Experiment Experiment! It's the best way to learn. :)