Homemade fruit pastilles

Ingredients:

• 570 g chopped fruit (see below for flavor combinations)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Variations of flavors for pastila:

• Plums: 5 pcs., sliced ​​with skin
• Peaches or nectarines: 5 medium-sized, sliced ​​with skin
• Apples: 3 pcs. Gala variety or Granny Smith, large, peeled and chopped
• Strawberries: 4 cups, stemmed and chopped
• Raspberries: 5 tbsp.
• Grapes: 3.5 cups (preferably Concord), seeds removed if necessary
• Bananas: 5 medium sized, peeled
• Mango: 2 large, peeled and chopped
• Raspberry Vanilla: 5 cups raspberries plus seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean
• Strawberry Banana: 3 cups strawberries (hulled and chopped) plus 2 medium bananas (peeled)
• Apple-ginger: 3 large apples (peeled and chopped) plus 1.5 tsp grated ginger
• Spiced Mango: 2 large mangoes (peeled and sliced) plus 1/8 teaspoon each salt and cayenne pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 90°C. Combine the fruit and sugar in a blender. Add lemon juice to taste (for apples or bananas, use 2 tablespoons) and puree until smooth.
2. Transfer the fruit puree to a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally at first and more frequently toward the end, until all the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has thickened, 35-45 minutes. Be careful: The mixture may splatter.
3. Line a 12x17-inch (30x43 cm) rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or nonstick foil. Using an offset spatula, spread the fruit puree thinly over the mat or foil. Bake until the pastila is slightly sticky, 3 to 3.5 hours.
   
   Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the pastila cool completely. Remove the mat or foil. If the pastila is still damp on the bottom, return it to the oven, wet side up, for another 20 minutes until dry.
   
   Place the dough smooth side down on a sheet of parchment paper and cut it into strips with kitchen scissors. Roll the strips into logs and store in a zip-top plastic bag for up to 1 week.