Dehydrating Pears
Easy dehydrated pear chips are a tasty snack and a wonderful way to preserve pears in season.
Ingredients
- 14 Pounds Pears or however much you have, see notes
Instructions
- Wash pears before beginning. Peel pears if desired.
- Destem and slice pears into ¼ to ⅜ inch slices or core pears and cut into eighths or quarters.
- (optional) If you wish to pre-treat pear slices to lessen browning, briefly soak pear slices in a solution of water and citric acid or lemon juice for 10 minutes (either ½ teaspoon powdered citric acid in 2 cups water or equal parts bottled lemon juice and water will work).
- (Dehydrator) Place pear slices or chunks onto dehydrator trays, ensuring they do not overlap. Set your dehydrator to 135° F and dehydrate for 20 to 36 hours. Pears are adequately dehydrated when they are dry to the touch, yet still pliable.
- (Oven) To dehydrate pears in the oven, place pears on oven-safe drying racks atop baking sheets. Set your oven as low as it will go (160° to 170° F is as low as most will go) and turn on your convection fan to quicken drying time if your oven is equipped with one. Oven-dried pears will bake much faster — check for doneness around 2 to 4 hours.
Notes
Starting with 14 pounds pears should yield about 1 1/2 pounds of dried fruit, or about 3 pints. They really shrink during the dehydrating process!
Properly dehydrated pears will keep at best quality for 6 months to a year when stored in a cool and dry location.
Conditioning
Be sure to condition your pears before long-term storage. Conditioning helps to distribute moisture and ensure your fruit is adequately dehydrated to protect from spoiling. To condition pears, allow pears slices to cool for at least 30 minutes after dehydrating and then move to a large container, filling to about ⅔ of the way full. Cover and store in a dry location for 4 to 10 days, stirring or shaking the contents once a day. If you see beads of moisture forming inside your container, your pear slices are not fully dehydrated. Return pears to the dehydrator for additional drying and repeat the conditioning process again.Dehydrating Time
The length of time needed for dehydrating pears depends on multiple factors including the size of your slices, the moisture content of your particular pear variety, and the ambient humidity of your locale. Drying times vary based on local humidity. See the chart below for reference:- 10 to 30% Humidity: 20 Hours
- 31 to 50% Humidity: 24 Hours
- 51 to 70% Humidity: 28 Hours
- 71 to 80% Humidity: 32 Hours
- Above 80% Humidity: 36 Hours