How to Dry Pears: 5 Ways

Hardly anyone can refuse a glass of compote made from dried pears on a winter day when they come home from the cold. The hot, delicious and fragrant drink will warm you up and bring back memories of the summer when the branches of pear trees were bursting with fruits. At such a moment every hostess will remember her troubles with the harvest and... pour some more tea to drink with dried sweet pear rings. It's so good, you don't even need candy. But it is also a real treasure trove of natural vitamins - just what is needed to maintain the body at a time of seasonal colds.

How to choose pears for drying

For drying pears it is better to take slightly immature fruits, such as those with a dense flesh with distinctly small hard inclusions, the so-called stony cells. Preferably, fruits with a small seed chamber and a small number of not very large seeds.

Choosing a variety of pears for drying, it is reasonable to stop on the fruits of summer or early-autumn terms of maturity, not very juicy. It can be Bergamot, Ilyinka, Bere, Victoria, Klapp's favorite, Limonka, Aromatnaya, Lesnaya Belle, Zaporozhskaya, William Summer and similar varieties. They are moderately hard and sweet enough. It is not recommended to take astringent pears, as well as severely unripe - in a dry state they will be hard and completely unpalatable.

How to prepare the fruits for drying

It is desirable not to store the harvested fruits, but immediately let them be processed. After lying at home, even a couple of days, they will become soft and unsuitable for drying.

You need to sort and put aside rotten, damaged or immature specimens. Even removed from the tree and clean at first glance fruit should always be washed, let the water drain and cut: first quarters, and after the cutting of the seeds - thinner slices, about 1 cm thick. Small fruits can be dried whole.

Pears, of which it is planned to make dried fruit, should be subjected to blanching - that is, treated with boiling water. Experts say that this process not only makes them softer, but also better preserves the vitamins. You can put the whole fruits or sliced fruits in boiling water for 5-8 minutes, but the soaking time in hot water should be reduced to 2-3 minutes.

Some housewives may be interested in the blanching version not in plain water, but in syrup: add 400 grams of sugar and half a teaspoon of citric acid to 1 liter of water. As soon as the syrup boils, put pears in it, cover the container with a lid and turn off the gas. Take out the fruit with a slotted spoon after complete cooling, put them in a colander, and when the syrup drains off, to do further processing. The dried fruit obtained this way will get more sweetness and tenderness, and it is a pleasure to drink tea with them.

Pears darken slightly slower than apples in the air, but nevertheless, to protect the slices from color change and to protect them from fruit midge during storage, you can put them for a few minutes in a 1% solution of tartaric or citric acid or in a solution of table salt (a tablespoon per liter of water).

Separate talk about preparing for drying drupes - that is, wild pears, for example, brought from the forest. They should not be torn from the tree, it is better to wait until they fall off, and only then collect and put in a box, where the fruit should lie until they darken to brown. Do not think that such fruits are spoiled, on the contrary - by this time they ripen (that is, ripen) and become sweet and fragrant. Only now they can be washed, cut in half lengthwise (or leave whole) and immediately, skipping the stages of cutting out the seed capsule and blanching, send them for drying.

How to dry pears at home

Choose a way to dry pears on the basis of possibilities: if the house has a special dryer for fruit and vegetables, you can use it, if not - adapt for this oven, microwave or aerogrill. In the end, as long as the weather is good, it is possible to dry fruits directly outside in a sunny place.

Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, the main thing is that the pears are properly dried and the result is not hard and brittle, but soft, moderately elastic, when trying to bend it does not break. Quality pear dried fruits are fragrant, pleasant looking, their color varies from light brown to dark brown. The fruit slices taste sweet.

In the oven

Intending to dry pears in the oven, you need to heat it up to 55-60 degrees, cover a baking tray with baking paper, evenly, in one layer, place the slices and send them to dry. After a couple of hours, increase the temperature to 80 degrees. As soon as the fruit decreases in size, again reduce the heat to 55 degrees - and in this mode bring pears to complete readiness. In total, the drying of slices will take from 12 to 16 hours, the whole fruits will reach the condition longer - up to a day.

During the whole drying process the oven door should be kept ajar to let the moisture escape, and pears should be turned from time to time, especially for whole pears.

In an electric dryer

An electric dryer is the most convenient device for making dried pears. From the hostess does not require any effort, skill and attention, except for the need to cut the fruits. The dryer is also convenient because thanks to the presence of several trays-stages at the same time you can dry a large volume of fruit.

This appliance can handle not only slices, but also whole pears, although those pears that are slightly larger than the average size may not fit the height of the tray, so it is better to cut them - at least in half.

Arrange the slices on the trays do not need to be against each other, it is important to leave the possibility of streams of heated air to move freely and blow around each slice. To dry faster and more evenly, every two and a half hours you need to change the trays, lifting up those on which the fruit dried more.

Drying is best done at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees in the medium blowing mode, higher settings are not recommended, since there is a danger that, quickly drying the outside of the fruit will remain raw inside.

Depending on the size of the slices, pears will take anywhere from 8 to 20-22 hours to cook, but usually about 12 hours. The halves, of course, will dry for almost a day, and, directly on the tray they will have to be turned: if lying cut side up, turn the cut side down.

In the microwave oven

Pears can be dried in the microwave oven more quickly than in any other drying method. It will only take 2 to 3 minutes. However, it takes some experience not to over-dry or burn the fruit slices. Therefore, to start with the microwave oven panel set the following parameters: power - 200 W, time - 2.5 minutes. When the process is completed, it is necessary to check the pears, turning them. If they have not dried out - repeat for about 30 seconds.

Moreover, before you send the fruits into the microwave, the plate on which they will be laid should be covered with a cotton napkin.

A significant disadvantage of this method of drying - in one time in the microwave will enter very few pear slices, so for serious preparations will have to put the fruit several times, maybe even more than a dozen.

In an air grill

Aerogrill also will not allow you to dry a lot of fruit at once: its capabilities are limited by the number of trays, and they, as a rule, in standard household aerogrill does not happen more than four. More than 1 kg of pears will not fit in any way.

Stack the slices of fruit on the trays, which are fixed in the air grill. Set the temperature to 120 degrees. In medium ventilation mode, turn on the device for half an hour, leave the lid ajar for the duration of operation, so that the moisture can evaporate freely. From time to time pears should be stirred, so that they do not get burned to the tray or the walls of the aerogrill. When the programmed process is complete, you need to check the readiness of dried fruit, if necessary, turn on the aero grill for another 15-20 minutes.

There is another option: to set the temperature on the device from 50 to 65 degrees, the level of ventilation - the maximum. In this case, pears will not stick to the grate trays, but the drying time will increase significantly, perhaps, the procedure will stretch for almost half a day. Aerogrill will have to turn off a couple of times for about an hour and a half to cool the device.

In the sun

This is the easiest, but at the same time the longest way of drying. Of course, whole pears, even if they are small, in the sun is not good to dry, so, stopping at this method of drying, it is recommended to cut the fruit. The exception is for the inhabitants of southern regions, where the sun and heat are in plenty all summer long.

Fruit slices should be placed on trays or trays, covered with clean paper, and taken outdoors, where to choose a place that does not get dust and sand, but good access to sunlight - it is better that it is well lit from early morning to late evening. Pears can be covered with a layer of gauze against flies.

Every evening pallets and trays with fruits should be brought indoors so that they do not suffer from dew, as well as always be on guard - what if it suddenly rains? That is, it is better to dry fruits in the sun during vacations, so there is an opportunity not to go out of the house.

Every day pears on pallets should be stirred up so that they are more evenly exposed to the sun and blown in the breeze, and therefore dried more evenly. Usually good dried fruit comes out after three days.

If pears are not cut in slices but in rings, one and a half days later one can thread them on a thick thread and finish drying already in a suspended form - like beads.

Those who do not have a private house with a plot of land and conditions for free standing with trays and trays, dry pears on the balcony. This is also acceptable, but it should be understood that in urban areas on the decomposed fruit may settle particles of soot from the factory chimneys, harmful substances from traffic exhaust.

How to store dried pears correctly

Dried fruits, including pears, need to create a number of conditions to prevent them from getting moldy and rotting.

First of all, for them it is necessary to prepare not very large cotton bags, cardboard boxes with perforations, so that their contents "breathed", or glass jars with tightly closing lids. Pour the dried fruit into them and put them away in a dry room where no light penetrates. Do not place a container with dried fruit near a radiator, stove or gas stove, as condensation may occur, which can irrevocably spoil the product.

Every two or three weeks, you should check the condition of the dried fruit: whether it has appeared mold, bugs or fruit moths.

If you follow all these conditions, dried pears will last very well until the next harvest. Longer should not store the product, it is better to prepare new portions of fruit.

If during the storing pears began to darken and become tough, you can carry out their "resuscitation". It is enough to put dry pieces of fruit on a baking tray and send it in a hot oven, placing a bowl of water on its lowest part. Boiling water will release steam, on which you need to hold the product to make it softer.

How are dried pears useful?

1. Dried pears retain the full range of valuable nutrients found in their fresh form. They include fiber, organic acids, vitamins C, P, B1, PP, carotene and iodine. Dried pears are highly recommended for people who have problems with the pancreas, decoctions are prescribed for intestinal disorders. Patients suffering from diseases of the heart and vascular system, these dried fruits are also useful.
2. To protect your family from acute respiratory infections during the cold and slushy season, you can prepare delicious fragrant healing decoctions from dried pears. This is a good remedy for the prevention and support in the treatment of viral infections and colds. Especially these drinks will be useful for children. They help to thin phlegm and thereby reduce the night cough of the baby, relieve fever and relieve sore throats.
3. In 100 grams of pear dried fruit is one-third of the daily fiber. Its fibers swell and absorb water in the intestine and speed up the excretion of its contents, while cleansing it of harmful substances and toxins, normalizing the amount of cholesterol and glucose in the blood. At the same time, the brain receives a message of satiety, which makes a person need less food. Therefore, the product is very useful for those who are on a diet and are struggling with excess weight. You can take pears with you to the office as a snack without fear of gaining sides, drink tea with them without adding sugar.
4. Dried pears are recommended to pregnant women as well, their benefits are due to the presence of a large number of minerals - potassium, manganese, copper and the content of folic acid, which obstetricians prescribe to all expectant mothers in the first three months of pregnancy. Folic acid is the second name of vitamin B9, and it is prescribed to prevent abnormalities in child development. Pears have more of this useful substance than even currants.
5. Magnesium is useful in that it helps to block uterine tone. Copper is an active participant in the formation of the baby's cardiovascular and nervous systems, as well as its skeleton. Potassium helps to normalize water-salt metabolism, so that the body eliminates fluid more quickly and edema disappears, from which many pregnant women suffer.
6. The ability of dried pears to improve the balance of fluids and salts brings relief for a hangover, it is worth to prepare and drink within 2-3 hours a couple of glasses of broth. They will reduce nausea and soothe the headache.
7. For people suffering from diabetes, dried pears are also useful because they are saturated with fructose, which is absorbed without insulin, in addition, they improve the function of the pancreas.
8. If fresh pears have a mild laxative effect and relieve constipation, then dried pears, on the contrary, are fortified. This is because these dried fruits are rich in thiamine (vitamin B1) and pectin, which contributes to the fight against diarrhea, for which dried pears decoction is prepared.
9. Pear seeds stop diarrhea and, in addition, show good antihelminthic properties, proven by practice.
10. Dried pears are hypoallergenic and can be safely eaten and cooked with them in various culinary dishes without fear of a negative reaction, even when the situation is complicated by seasonal exacerbations of allergies.
11. Whole dried fruits of wild pears, or dice, are good for patients suffering from tuberculosis.
12. Dried pears should also be eaten as a means to prevent possible problems with various organs and body systems. So, thanks to iron, which is a component of the chemical composition of these fruits, it is possible to prevent the development of iron deficiency anemia, improve the production of red blood cells - red blood cells, normalize blood formation.

There are people who have an individual intolerance to pears. They, of course, should not consume the fruit.

Intestinal discomfort awaits those who decide to experiment and drink milk with pears. And with fermented dairy products, pear dried fruit harmonize well, so this combination can be used in culinary dishes.

What to make with dried pears

Dried pears are versatile, which is why they are good: they can be used for baking or desserts, as well as for cooking compote, in addition, with them prepare meat dishes, snacks and even soups.

Dessert with dried pears

You need to boil 1 liter of water with sugar. Those who don't like much sweetness can add only a spoonful of sugar, those who have a sweet tooth - 4-5. Dip two handfuls of dried pears into the syrup, boil for 25-30 minutes, take them out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool.

Take two chicken eggs and carefully separate the whites. Beat the whites with a mixer: at first on low speed, then gradually increase the speed, gently adding a teaspoon of sugar. When the whites are a thick mass, stop adding sand and add the cocoa spoonful by spoonful, no more than a tablespoon at a time. The meringue will turn a soft brown color.

String pears boiled in syrup on skewers, dip them in meringue, and send them to the oven heated to 120-150 degrees. It is better to leave the door slightly ajar. In half an hour the delicious dessert will be ready.

On the remaining syrup you can make a compote, adding water and putting dried apples, prunes, dried apricots, figs.

Compote without sugar

You will need 150 grams of dried fruit: 100 g apples and 50 g pears. The fruits are washed and put in cold water for half an hour, then drain the water, apples and pears, and boiling 1 liter of water, put them there and boil for another half hour.

If you plan to give the compote to children, you can make it sweeter by adding a dried banana or apricots.

Salad with turkey

For 250 g of cooked turkey take 100-150 g of pickles, onion, green apple and 3 whole dried pears. Season with basil (fresh or dried) and ground black pepper.

Finely chop the turkey meat, apple, cucumbers and onion. The dried whole pear does not need to be pre-soaked, take dry. Chop it in larger pieces than the rest of the ingredients. Dress the salad with mayonnaise and leave to soak for at least 2.5-3 hours. The pear will soften during this time.

Ukrainian-style roast

1. Soak 3 dried whole pears in cold water and put them into the fridge (about 10 hours beforehand).
2. Cut a kilo of pork (you can cut it with a bone) into small pieces.
3. Dice 300 g of onions, cut in quarters (lengthwise) half a kilo of medium carrots. Peel 850-900 g of potatoes, cut into large cubes - about 4x4 cm.
4. Melt 50g of butter in the cauldron, and when it heats up, throw the pork and fry well over high heat. Take the meat out of the cauldron, put in the onion slices, bring it to golden color and add the carrots chopped.
5. Pull the vegetables apart and put 6 tablespoons of tomato paste and 100g of butter in the center of the cauldron. Fry the vegetables with the tomato paste while stirring.
6. Return the meat back to the cauldron, pour a big glass of meat broth (or water), bring it to the boil and turn down the heat.
7. Put to the meat pears, cut in halves, and stew over very low heat until the meat is almost cooked, then add three bay leaves and chopped potatoes. Continue to stew it until the potatoes are soft - this will take 30 to 40 minutes. Stir and you can turn off the heat.

Herring pie

For this pie, you will need molasses - this product is not sold in many stores, you can find it where they sell ecoteca. If you can not buy it, you can try to make it yourself, in fact, molasses is an ordinary syrup: boil 350 g of sugar in 150 ml of water, when it dissolves, add 2 g of citric acid and simmer with constant stirring for another 40 minutes, then add a pinch of soda, stir thoroughly and turn off.

1. You also need to cook porridge of 140 grams of cereals and two incomplete cups of water in advance.
2. In 100 g of heated treacle add 85 g of butter, 2 tablespoons of brown cane sugar, and put into the mixture hercules porridge and chopped dried fruit - 85 g apricots and 50 g pears. You can pour half a teaspoon of vanillin for flavor.
3. The resulting dough should be placed in a greased with vegetable oil form and sent to a preheated to 180 degrees oven. Bake for half an hour, then cool and take out of the form.
4. First, pour cold water on dried fruits - 50 grams each of pears, prunes, dried apricots and raisins.
5. To prepare the rice porridge, boil two cups of water and pour into it a glass of rice from round grain. Boil the viscous porridge until tender for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. While the porridge is boiling, rinse the dried fruit. Pears, apricots and prunes cut into pieces.

In almost cooked porridge put dried fruits, stir, pour 2 tablespoons of honey, turn off the fire - and in 5 minutes you can serve to the table.

Cakes with dried fruit

Rinse and soak in cold water for an hour dried fruit: 200 grams each of pears, apricots and pitted prunes.

Dice 3 large carrots, 300g of beef cubes about 3x3 cm.

In a deep pan, fry the meat - first on a high heat until crispy. Then turn down the fire to medium and add soaked and rinsed dried fruits, salt, pour two glasses of water and stew until the meat is semi-cooked. Next, pour a glass of orange juice into the pan and cook under a closed lid until the dish is ready. About ten minutes before it turns off, add 6 slices of lemon, sprinkle with ground black pepper and pour 2 tablespoons of liquid honey.
Rice or boiled potatoes are best served as a side dish.

Uzvar of pears

Uzvar is a traditional dish of many national cuisines. In Russian cuisine it would be called compote.

Pour cold water on 100 g of raisins and 200 g of prunes and after 10 minutes rinse them and the rest of the dried fruits: 300 g of pears and 200 g of apples.

In a saucepan put the washed dried pears, pour 1 liter of water over them and cook for 20 minutes over low heat. Then put all the rest of the dried fruit and cook for another 15 minutes. At the end, add 200-250 grams of honey, stir and turn off the heat. Leave to cool under a covered lid. Serve the uzvar strained.

Chicken hearts with pears

Wash a kilo of chicken hearts, trim off the fat and remove any blood clots. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat, adding a couple of cloves of garlic. When the aroma spreads throughout the kitchen, take out the garlic and put the hearts. Roast them for about a quarter of an hour without putting the lid on, then add soy sauce and 300g of washed dried pears to taste. Turn down the heat and continue to stew under a closed lid.

Meanwhile, in another pan, fry half a kilo of onions cut in half rings. We need to bring it to light golden color and then put it to the pan with the hearts, pepper it and continue to stew. Then put two small cans of melted cheese "Amber" to the hearts and stir until it spreads all over the gravy. Once the mass becomes homogeneous, gently scatter the flour over the entire surface of the pan and stir again so that not a single lump is formed. It remains to simmer for another 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken slightly.

As a side dish, buckwheat, boiled potatoes or spaghetti will work well to this dish.

Dried pear soup

Wash 250 g of dried pears thoroughly, put them in a pot and pour 1 liter of hot water. After one hour put the pot on the heat, add 50g of washed rice and cook until it is almost cooked. Then add sugar to taste (if you don't like sweetness, you can do without it at all), cinnamon and starch, which you should first dilute with cold water. Stir vigorously the contents of the pot, bring to a boil and turn off the fire.

Serve such a soup with sour cream or cream. Usually sweet soup is considered a cold dish, but this one is also delicious hot.

Scrub

Dried pears can be used not only in culinary recipes, but also in cosmetic ones.

If the new harvest is ripe and the dried pears from last year are not yet eaten, and you no longer want to use them because they have become hard and darkened, you can easily make a scrub for face and body. It's enough to grind the dried fruits in a coffee grinder or with a blender and mix them with sour cream, and the thicker it is, the better. The proportions should be as follows: one and a half spoon of dried fruit and a half spoon of sour cream. Such a composition will not only cleanse the skin, but also nourish it.