Learn how to dry pears at home. It's simple and easy to do either in a food dehydrator or the oven. And dried pears are so delicious almost like candy but so much better for you.
Wash the Pears, Be sure to wash your pears well. I fill the sink with water and place the pears in the water. I gently swish them a bit and then using sponge scrub them a little. Then rinse.
Remove the Ends, The next step is to remove the stem end and the blossom end. I find this task is easy when using a melon baller. Just scoop out each end and discard.
Peel, if desired, Now the ends are removed, you can peel the pears at this point. I usually leave the skin on since we have home-grown pears. But if you don’t grow your own or you are not sure if pesticides were used on them, you might want to peel the pears.
Cut the Pear in Half, The next step is to cut your pear in half. Try to go right down the center. Then using the melon baller, scoop out the core and seeds. Do the same for the other half.
Slice The Pears, Now you have your pear prepped and ready to go, all that is left is to slice each half. Try to keep your slices uniform in thickness so they will all dry at about the same rate. If you are worried about the pears browning in the drying process, you can treat them with a little lemon juice water.
Dehydrate the Pears, Place each slice of pear on your dehydrator tray. Leave a little space between each one for good air circulation. Place your tray into the dehydrator and dry at 135 degrees until the pears are dry with no moisture pockets. If you don’t have a dehydrator: you can use an oven. Place your pears on a baking rack inside of a cookie sheet. Put your oven on the lowest setting. Place your prepared sheets with pears on them and bake or convection bake until they are dried with no moisture pockets left.
Place in an Air-Tight Container, Once your pears are dried and cooled, it’s time to package them for storage. Package them into a glass jar with air tight lids or into some other air-tight container. You can also seal them in a vacuum seal bag.