The process

Each sheet of this fruit-leather is the result of continuous experimentation and refinement. Building on my experience experimenting with food ingredients such as gelatin, glycerin, agar and other materials, I explored how different mixtures respond to heat, cooling, drying, and varying proportions.

Natural by-products, orange peels, coffee grounds, tea leaves, and other food waste, were incorporated to alter colour, texture, and surface qualities, allowing each material to develop its own unique character.

The result is a biodegradable (and completely edible) material designed through curiosity, iteration, and a new perspective on everyday waste.

First, building the molds: acrylic boards and cardboard. Laying out ingredients!

Gelatin gives it structure in the same way it turns water into a solid jello.

Notes:

• cheapest at Safeway

• determines thickness

Agar agar works the same way as gelatin: as a structural agent for how its used to make gels

Notes:

• Everland is the better brand

• determines stretchiness

Glycerin softens the texture of the leather, much like how it works in skincare: softening skin.

Notes:

• has to be 100% glycerin

• About equal ratio to gelatin, a little less

• Vegetable version works the same

Here are some of the recorded food items I have tested with. Theres much more.

Notes:

• can’t be sweet, must be peels for citrus fruits that aren’t lime. No fruit juice

• Tea and coffee dyes the whole fabric

• Purple cabbage can turn brown, some kind of oxidization?