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Learn all my tips and tricks for making dried pears in a food dehydrator or in an oven. Dehydrating pears is a simple kitchen project for even brand-new home cooks, and they make amazingly tasty snacks.
When you’re out of freezer space or room for storing canned pears or pear sauce, a dehydrator is a wonderful way to preserve extra pears.
These dried pears are delicious and poppable little treats that turn a favorite fruit into a wonderful shelf-stable snack.
Sarah’s Cheat Codes
- All pears, including Asian pears, will work in the dehydrator. You’ll want to choose ripe pears that you would select for eating fresh.
- You can peel the pears if you prefer, but I find them easier to work with if the skin remains on. Unlike dried apples, the skin on dried pears will not get tough.
- I strongly encourage you to soak the sliced pears in a bowl of lemon juice (dunk the slices in 1/4 cup per 6 cups of cold water), citric acid, or Fruit Fresh prior to draining and placing on the dehydrator trays. This will help the pears from getting too brown during the drying process.
- Dried pears will last for up to a year if stored in a cool, dry place.
How to Dry Pears in a Dehydrator or an Oven
Ingredients
- pears {choose ripe pears suitable for fresh eating}
- 1/4 cup lemon juice per 6 cups of water
Instructions
- Fill a bowl with 6 cups of cold water and 1/4 cup of lemon juice.1/4 cup lemon juice
- Set up a workstation with a peeler, cutting board, sharp knife, and a bowl for the cores.
- Rinse pears, and remove the stem and blossom end with a sharp knife. (optional): remove the peel.pears
- Cut the pear in half from the top to the bottom.
- Use the knife to make a cut from the stem to the bottom on one side. Repeat on the other side, then jiggle the core out.
- Cut pear halves into uniform slices. Place slices into the bowl of lemon water while you work with the other pears.
- Drain soaked slices through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Arrange the slices on your dehydrator so that there is space around each slice, and the slices are not touching.
- Set your dehydrator to the "fruit/vegetables" setting (135˚F).
- Rotate trays every few hours.
- Pear chips are done when they don’t feel wet anymore (4-8 hours). Some pears will finish before the others on the same tray. Remove those that are done and set aside.
Notes
- Follow the peeling and soaking instructions above and then place pear slices on baking drying racks set on baking sheets.
- Place in the oven at the lowest temperature possible (usually 140-170˚F) and prop open the door with the handle of a wooden spoon. This allows condensation to escape instead of settling back onto the pears.
- Bake for 5-8 hours.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Crazy questions…but what would be your guess to how many pounds of fresh pears yeilds 1 pound dried pears or 8 cups of dried pears?
Don’t hold me to this Julie, but my best guess would be 4-5 lbs of fresh.