Making dried pears in a food dehydrator or an oven is a wonderful way to keep this delicious, nutritious fruit affordable throughout the year. Dehydrated pears are easy to make, easy to store, and versatile enough to be used every day.
Dried Pears: How to Prepare Pears for Drying
To prepare pears for drying:
- Wash, peel and core the pears.
- Slice the pears into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices. (For chewier dried pears, cut slightly thicker slices.)
- Dip pear slices in a lemon juice bath or ascorbic bath. Dipping helps prevent oxidation, vitamin loss and ugly browning in dried pears.
- For a lemon juice dip, mix 4 parts water to 1 part lemon juice. Fully dunk pear slices (covered) in the dip for 10 to 15 minutes.
- For an ascorbic (citric) acid dip, mix one quart cold water with one tablespoon ascorbic acid. Fully dunk pear slices in the dip for 3 to 5 minutes. (Note that an ascorbic acid dip is more effective than a lemon juice dip and it slightly increases the vitamin C content of your fruit.)
- Remove pears from bath and let them drain.
- Spread pear slices in a single layer on a drying tray (if using a food dehydrator) or on a cookie sheet (if using an oven). Leave enough room between each pear slice to allow for adequate air circulation during drying.
- To make flavored dried pears, lightly dust pear slices with preferred ground spices. Popular spices for include sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Dehydrating Methods for Making Dried Pears
After washing and dipping, try any of the following drying methods to make dried pears:
- If using an oven, dry for 10 to 12 hours at 125F. Temperature can be slightly increased (up to no more than 150F) toward the end of drying time.
- If using a food dehydrator, dry for 6 to 8 hours at 140F, then reduce temperature to 130F and dry for another 6 hours.
- To make sun-dried pears, leave pear slices in the sun for 2 or 3 days. For best results, place them on a screen (flipping fruit at least once), only do so when you have a high temperature environment (at least 100F) with low humidity, and bring fruit inside at night (to prevent it from collecting night-time moisture). Note that due to environmental factors and issues with insects and spoilage, sun drying tends to be the least consistent method for drying foods. Using a solar dehydrator may improve consistency and results.
Check dried fruit periodically (every few hours) for doneness. Because drying time can vary greatly due to thickness, moisture content and drying temperature, it's important to keep an eye on your fruit as it dries. Pears are adequately dry when they're pliable (like soft leather) and don't release moisture when squeezed.
Conditioning Dehydrated Pears
Before storing dried pears, condition them to make sure that enough moisture has been removed. Conditioning the dried fruit ensures that they're dry enough to resist spoilage during storage.
To condition dehydrated pears, just put them in an air-tight (preferably see-through) container for several days and check daily for condensation. If condensation appears (in the form of mist or water droplets) on the sides of the container, your fruit slices contain too much moisture and need to be dried a bit more.
Ways to Use Dried Pears
Not only is drying pears a great way to make this pricey fruit affordable year round, dried pears are delicious and versatile. Dehydrated pears can be used for:
- Snack chips (season with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or cloves)
- Baked treats like pies, scones and tarts
- Homemade flavored tea
- Salads (dried pears are delicious with blue cheese and walnuts!)
- Trail mix
- Dried fruit gift boxes
- Homemade flavored oatmeal
- Chutney
- Preserves
To reconstitute dried pears, simply soak, steam or boil them to the desired consistency. Note that Bosc pears hold their shape best when cooking, so if you plan on drying pears for pies and tarts, choose Bosc pears for prettier treats!
If you liked this, you may also like to learn how to dry apples or about five fall and winter foods that are great for dehydrating.
Updated March 7, 2011.
Jennifer Silva - Jenn is a professional writer and editor with experience in: technical communications (medical, manufacturing and publishing ...
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