Dried fruits from pears at home. How to dry apples and pears for winter storage

How to dry pears at home? For this most suitable fruits are slightly unripe, not very juicy, having dense pulp with the presence of hard inclusions - “stony cells”. It is also desirable that pears have few seeds and have a small seed chamber.

Fruits with a viscous taste not worth using, it is recommended to dry sweet summer or early autumn varieties.

The most preferable choice is the fruit of the golden product of Fragrant, Ilyinka, Bergamot, Zaporozhye, Forest Beauty, Limonka, Victoria. It is better to take medium-sized fruits. In the process of making dried fruits you can use sugar.

First of all, fruit is a must wash. If you plan to chop them, first cut them into quarters, remove the seeds, and then cut them into thinner slices.

To prevent them from darkening, they need to be soaked in tartaric acid (1% solution). Before drying, the fruits are dipped in boiling water for 1-3 minutes.

The process usually lasts 2-3 days, after which the product is dried in the shade - in a ventilated area. If, then choose a starting temperature of 75°C...85°C, and a final temperature of no more than 65°C. Drying time – 5-6 hours.

Methods

How to dry pears at home? Let's look at how to dry pears different ways . This can be done like in a natural way, and use special drying devices:

in the sun;
in an electric or gas oven;

You can also find it on our website.

Preliminary processing

How to dry pears at home? Drying pears at home involves preliminary preparation fruits.

Picked pears should not be stored over 2 days, this will lead to their softening and make them unsuitable for drying.

Preparing fruits for drying is the same for all methods. Firstly, you need boil water in a saucepan. Then, if desired, add there Sahara. Fruits are sorted by degree of ripeness, damage is cut out, and running water is used for washing.

Damaged by pests and rotten are discarded. After washing, the fruits are boiled in boiling water 10-15 minutes (depending on the degree of ripeness) until soft. After cooling, taking into account the size and type of pears, they are either cut into slices about 10 mm thick (large specimens), or into 4 parts, maybe in half (medium), or left whole (wild ones).

Then they should be placed on the base in which they will be dry.

Treatment in tartaric or citric acid (1% solution) protects the product from darkening when drying.

To give them elasticity, the slices need to be blanched for 5 minutes in boiling water.

Natural Method

Method for drying pears at home naturally, is like this. Parts of the fruit are laid out on a sieve or baking sheet, tray, which are placed in a place with good solar lighting, windless and dust-free. The tilt of the base should be such that the pears are illuminated for as long as possible during the day.

In the private sector, to dry apples and pears, you can also use roofs of houses. In the evening, the fruits are covered with polyethylene and brought into the house. After 2 days they are laid out in a shaded place and finish drying within 2-3 days. For complete, uniform drying, the slices need to be turned over periodically.

Some people press the slices with two boards in the middle of drying, then put on a thread, hang and dry. Sometimes when making dried fruit for better preservation it is fumigated with sulfur dioxide.

However, due to the danger of gas, it is necessary to use special premises, observing safety regulations.

Using the oven

How to properly dry pears at home using an oven? Since weather conditions do not always provide an opportunity for drying fruits, this can be successfully done using an oven, in the kitchen. The fruits are laid out on a baking sheet in one layer and dried at a temperature of 55°C...60°C.

After 2 hours, the heat should be raised to 80°C. When the fruit decreases in size, it is reduced to 55°C, this temperature is finishing. The duration of the process depends on the size of the product used: for slices it takes 12-16 hours, for whole fruits – 18-24.

Using an electric dryer and microwave

How to properly dry pears at home using household appliances? Drying apples and pears using household appliances has its own peculiarities.

Electric dryer, equipped with several layer trays, allows you to dry a decent amount of product overnight.

The technology provides for complete autonomy of the process: uniform automatic circulation of warm air is ensured, the fruit does not need to be turned over.

The technique for drying 18 kilograms of pears in an electric dryer is in this video. Let's look:

Usage microwave oven– most quick way drying preparation: one portion is prepared in 2-3 minutes. However, not everyone accepts it, since here you can not calculate it accurately and dry out the fruits, turning them into coals. Before placing in the oven, the pears are washed and placed on a plate covered with a cotton cloth.

The device is set to 200 W and 2.5 minutes of operating time. If the pears are not dry enough, repeat the process for half a minute. Cooked dried fruits should be elastic, springy when pressed.

Tough will be for one reason: carrion or completely immature specimens were drying.

Drying whole fruits

The question also arises of how to dry whole pears at home. There are no special points here; the principles of drying them are almost identical to the rules for drying crushed fruits. For this they take small fruits and keep in the sun for 6-8 days.

For cooking in the oven, whole small fruits. They need to remove the sepals and stalks; there is no need to remove the skin. Dry for about 20 hours, turning frequently. The process speeds up 2-3 times in the presence of good ventilation. The color of properly dried pears is light and dark brown.

Wild pears: features of drying wild pears

Now about how to dry wild pears at home? During the drying process, wild game has its own specific features. It is not collected from trees, but awaits the natural fall of the fruit. Then they put them in a container - a box, a bucket, and let them sit until they darken and the skin turns brown.

Then their taste, instead of bitter and tart, will turn into aromatic sweet. Ignorant people often throw away such fruits, taking them for spoiled, but this is a mistake.

Then the game is washed, cut into halves (or left whole) and dried in the same way as cultivated varieties.

Their seed nest is not cut out, and they should not be fumigate and blanch.

When the process is performed correctly, the pears are elastic, soft, and do not break when compressed or bent.

They are pleasantly aromatic, their taste is sweet, and their color varies from light to dark brown.

Summary

Pear is one of the the most valuable products for good health. It contains vital elements for the body, fiber, iron, and vitamins. Thanks to various antioxidants, it rejuvenates the skin, normalizes heart function, and is an excellent immunomodulator.

Its intake does not lead to the appearance of food allergies.

Of course, Homer was not mistaken when he called this fruit “a gift from the gods,” since its use prolongs youth. Preparing this for future use sunny fruit, you are storing on the shelves a divine gift that provides you healthy and fulfilling life.

There are never enough supplies for the winter, as every housewife will say. Therefore, you need to think in advance about preparing drying food in order to cook in winter delicious compotes. Step by step recipe with a photo of drying whole pears at home. Video recipe.

Delicious dried pears in the cold winter time years will remind you of the past warm summer. But in order for the drying to be tasty, you should follow some simple rules.

Small fruits are best suited for whole harvesting; they are dried together with the stalks. Larger fruits are cut into halves, quarters or smaller pieces.
Summer varieties are usually used for drying. Those with an astringent taste and coarse pulp are not suitable, i.e. will not provide good quality dried fruits Ideal varieties are Bergamot, Talgar Beauty, Forest Beauty, Fragrant, etc.
Select pears that are not quite ripe, with firm flesh and a small seed chamber. At the same time, they should already begin to turn yellow. Do not take overripe fruits for drying.
Pears are dried in the oven, in the sun, in the oven, and even in the microwave. With the right approach, pears dried by any method will be good.
There is no need to peel or core the fruit. Only fruits with rough and hard skin are peeled. And hard pears are first boiled and sometimes sugared.
You can make pear powder from ready-made dried pears. To do this, the dried fruits are ground with a special mill or coffee grinder, 10-20% sugar and a pinch of cinnamon are added. Powder is used to sprinkle porridge, used for filling...
When stored for a long time, pears become hard and dry. Before using them, they need to be dried in the oven so that they steam, become soft and tasty.

Calorie content per 100 g - 249 kcal.
Number of servings - any quantity
Cooking time - 10 minutes of active work, plus 5-6 hours for drying

Ingredients:

Pears - any quantity

Step-by-step preparation of dried whole pears for the winter for compote, recipe with photo:

1. Place whole small pears in a sieve and wash under running water.

2. Place the pears on a clean cotton towel and leave to dry completely.

3. Place the pears on a baking sheet and place them in a preheated oven to dry at 60 degrees. This temperature will prevent the fruit from cracking and bubbles forming under the skin. Dry them for 5-10 hours with the door slightly open. Drying time depends on the size of the fruit. Turn them over periodically so that the fruits dry evenly. Whole winter dried pears for compote are considered ready when they do not stick to your hands, are dry, and at the same time elastic.

Note: If desired, you can dry the pears in the sun. Place the baking tray with them in the sun, where they should remain for about 2-4 days, depending on the size of the fruit. Bring fruit indoors at night. Choose a sunny time for drying, without rain. Finish drying in the shade with good ventilation.

Watch also the video recipe on how to prepare dried pears at home.

During the harvest period, every housewife wants to stock up on fruit for future use. Particularly popular for the preparation is the drying process to which pears are subjected. Later, when cold weather sets in, you can prepare compotes and various delicacies based on the dried fruits. Therefore, drying must be carried out correctly; if the technology is violated, the pears will lose most of their useful substances. Today we will look at the main harvesting methods.

Preparing pears for drying

The fruits should be hard and their skin should be moderately thick. For drying, you should not choose too soft or overripe pears. Pay attention to the number of seeds; the fewer, the better.
As for the varieties that are suitable for heat treatment, there are many of them. Give preference to “Forest Beauty”, “Victoria”, “Limonka”, “Aromatic”, “Ilyinka”, “Bergamot”, “Zaporozhskaya”.
It is strictly not recommended to dry frozen, damaged, wormy, or rotten fruits. When drying, the main thing is the integrity and density of the fruit.
If you think that the pear looks suitable for drying, but has some bruises, cut them out. After sorting and rejecting excess, thoroughly rinse and dry the raw materials.
If the pears are relatively small in size, they can be dried whole or cut into 2 parts. It is better to chop larger specimens into 1 cm slices. Do not forget to remove the seeds.
Some housewives have developed an effective method for preparing pears for drying. Place the fruits in boiling water for a couple of minutes, cool, then cut and peel the seeds. This way, the maximum amount of vitamins is retained in the fruits.

Method number 1. The natural way

First, select a location that will meet the requirements for drying pears. It is important to carry out the procedure in sunlight, in the absence of dust and wind, midges, and insects.
Prepare the pears as described above. Then place parts of the fruit on a wire rack, plastic tray or baking sheet. Place the contents in a location that receives the best light throughout the day.
First, keep the fruits in the sun for several days. At night, cover the contents with gauze and bring them into the house. In the morning, place the tray with pears again for further drying.
When the fruits dry out a little, bring them into a room with dry air and cook until cooked. In this state, the pears should dry for another 3-4 days.
To ensure the pieces dry evenly, periodically turn them from one side to the other. Make sure all pears are completely dry before storing the contents. Otherwise, mold will develop.
If the option of carrying out the procedure on a tray is not suitable for you, pierce the pieces of pears with a needle and thread them. Hang it in a place inaccessible to insects. Dry until ready. Then put them in linen bags or glass jars.

Method number 2. Oven

In view of modern technologies many housewives have switched from natural drying to using oven. The procedure will take less time and give excellent results. In addition, weather conditions do not always allow drying pears on the loggia or roof of the house.
First, preheat the oven to 55-60 degrees, then place the pear pieces on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and wait 2 hours. After this period, increase the power to 80 degrees. Wait for the moment when the pears decrease in size.
After this, again reduce the oven power to 55 degrees and continue simmering. Next, note the time. If you dry pears in slices, wait 13-15 hours. When processing whole specimens, it takes about 20-22 hours. Allow the fruits to cool completely before sorting for long-term storage.

Method No. 3. Microwave

This method is considered the fastest. If you don't want to wait, use microwave. Using this device, a portion of pears will dry in 3-5 minutes.
However, despite the speed, not all housewives like this drying method. Because if you don’t check it thoroughly, you risk getting hard “coals” instead of beautiful dried fruits.
Take a flat dish that is microwave safe. Line it with cotton cloth or parchment paper. Place the washed and prepared pieces of fruit on a plate.
Set the microwave to 200-250 W and note the time. It will take you 2.5 minutes to get started. If this is not enough, increase the duration a little later. So, send the pears to dry.
After the allotted period, check the fruits. When pressed, they should spring back, this indicates the elasticity of the pears. If the fruits turn out to be hard, this indicates that they are not ripe.

Method number 4. Air fryer

If you have an air fryer, it makes sense to use it. Prepare the device, place the pieces of fruit in one row on the trays. You put temperature regime 65 degrees, turn the fan to maximum.
Drying is carried out in 2-3 stages of 25-30 minutes. Between procedures, leave the fruits to cool, then start the device again. Remember to rearrange and turn the pears for even processing.
In total, in a day you need to do 6 approaches of 3 stages. After about 28-30 hours, the pears will be completely dry. All you have to do is cool them and store them.

Method No. 5. Electric dryer

The electric dryer is designed specifically for preparing dried fruits for the winter. Assemble the device and place pieces of fruit on its trays in one layer. Turn on the temperature to 70 degrees, press “Start”.
Periodically, the workpieces must be turned over for uniform heat treatment. The drying time in the device is approximately 17-19 hours.
You should not leave the electric dryer unattended so that the pears do not dry out. Turn off the device when the fruits acquire a beautiful brownish color.
Properly dried pears do not crumble. They have elasticity and density. After all manipulations, leave the slices to cool at room temperature.

Not only pears grown in summer cottages can be subjected to heat treatment. If you have the opportunity to collect game, take advantage of it. The result is tasty and healthy dried fruits.
Need to know that wild pears no need to pick from trees. Carrion is suitable for drying. After picking, place the fruits in a box or box, expect the fruits to darken.
When the pears have rested, wash them and cut them into slices. You can chop the fruits into 2 parts, proceed according to your personal preferences. It is not necessary to cut out the seeds; you should also not blanch the pears.
After preparation, use one of the above methods for drying pears. Ultimately, you should get not hard, but elastic and dense dried fruits.

How to store dried pears

After drying, you need to select a method proper storage. After all, if the storage conditions are violated, dried fruits can become moldy or harden.
The shelf life of dried fruits does not exceed 12 months. After the allotted time, you need to get rid of dried fruits and prepare a new portion.
Choose a place that is dark and dry. A dry glass jar with an airtight lid, as well as linen (cotton) bags, are suitable as storage vessels.
Do not keep pears near radiators, gas or electric stove. Otherwise, condensation may appear in the container with pears, which will lead to spoilage.
To be sure of the integrity and usefulness of the fruits, periodically open the jars with the contents and check the dried fruits for the absence of mold, bugs, insect larvae, and fruit moths.
It is worth remembering that too long-term storage makes pears hard and dark. Therefore, try to eat the fruits as early as possible. If you allow hardness to appear, heat the dried fruits on a baking sheet in the oven. Place a container of water at the bottom to create steam.
Experienced housewives have found a use even for dry pears that are too hard. Therefore, do not rush to get rid of them. Grind the fruits in a blender or coffee grinder, mix with sour cream and make a body/face scrub.

If you definitely decide to provide your family with dried fruits for the winter, choose responsibly and proper preparation pears for further drying. Choose a heat treatment option based on the equipment you have at hand.

Video: how to dry apples and pears

Dried fruits rightfully occupy one of the main places in our kitchens. Can modern drinks compare with natural ones, and most importantly useful compote from dry fruits? The answer to this question is obvious - of course not! On festive feasts, and just every day, we put jugs of compote on the table. How to properly dry pears and apples in the oven, we will tell you in this article.

The benefits of dried fruits

Caring mothers try to give it to their children. This vitamin drink, leaves no one indifferent. In addition, it has long been known that dried apples contain unique healing properties. For urolithiasis and kidney stones, you simply need to take a decoction of dried apples And apple peel. In addition, it is excellent for constipation.

Of course, you can buy it at the bazaar or in a store. But when you have your own apple orchard or stock fresh fruit, then why not make the blank yourself.

So, our article is about how to properly dry apples and pears in the oven.

It is immediately worth noting that for this purpose it is better to use gas oven, and not electric, because they do not provide for a low heating temperature.

You will have to tinker with the preparation of raw materials, but it is worth it.

Let's take it ripe apples summer varieties and summer pears beginning to ripen. We wash them thoroughly and let them dry. Remove the core from the apples and cut into slices 0.5 cm thick.

Pears are prepared a little differently. Large fruits are cut in half, medium ones are divided into 4 parts and the core is removed, and small ones can be dried whole or even with a tail.

Then the workpieces must be lowered into cold water, acidified with citric acid. For 1 liter of water no more than 3 g citric acid. After this, transfer the apples to boiling water, blanch for 3 minutes, cool immediately cold water, let it drain and dry.

We take the pear slices and halves out of the acidified water and let them dry. Whole pears need to be boiled in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Then remove and dry.

How to properly dry apples and pears in the oven?

It is important to dry each type of fruit separately, even though they will have to be mixed later. When the raw material is prepared for drying, it needs to be dried a little. This is done on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. You also need to remember one thing simple rule– lay out the raw materials in one layer, and the fruits should not touch each other. This ensures free access of air from all sides.

Place the cut pears cut side up. Place the baking sheet in the oven at a temperature of 70-80 degrees (no more), while the oven door should be slightly open. When the fruits are dry, that is, most of the moisture has evaporated from them, the temperature in the oven must be reduced to 50-60 degrees and drying continues in the same way with the door ajar.

On average, it will take 8-10 hours to dry apples, and pears will take longer - 14-16 hours. The readiness of dried fruits is determined visually. Apples should become elastic and light yellow in color, while pears, on the contrary, should be dark.

We told how to dry apples and pears in the oven. Of course, you can dry it in a simpler and safer way - with the help of the sun and wind, but this will take more time.

Dried fruits - excellent preparation for the winter. Firstly, such dried products do not have an expiration date; they can be safely consumed after two or five years, of course, provided they are properly stored. Secondly, this method is suitable for most sweet fruits. Thirdly, they do not contain additional sugars, but retain vitamins. And fourthly, it's easy tasty treat. Pears and apples are especially good for this. We’ll figure out how to dry pears.

Selecting the best

Before drying pears, you need to determine which fruits are suitable for this and which are better left for something else. To prepare dried fruits, you should choose varieties a small amount juice, so-called dry. Their pulp is usually dense, hard, and the chamber with seeds takes up little space. You cannot use overripe, soft or tart pears for this preparation, and you should not take fruits that were picked more than two days ago. If the pears are too hard or unsweetened, you can boil them in syrup. Selected fruits must be washed and dried thoroughly.

Drying pears

How to dry pears: in slices or whole? It depends on their size. Small specimens are quite suitable for drying in in its original form, however, this will require a longer time. In this case, you should remove their tails. If you prefer slices, then remember that the optimal thickness of each slice is 1 cm. It is with this cutting that future drying will receive correct ratio meatiness and taste and will be stored for a long time.

Oven or sun

What is the best way to dry pears: in the oven or in the summer sun? This largely depends on the weather. For residents of the south, the natural method is quite applicable. To do this, the fruits should be cut into pieces, placed on trays or other support and placed in a place that will receive as much sun as possible throughout the day. To prevent flies from landing on the sweets, you can cover them with clean gauze. At night, the trays will have to be brought into the house so that moisture does not soak up the slices that have dried out during the day. Drying time pear slices will be about a couple of days and the same amount will be required until the condition is fully achieved in the shade. After this, they can be packaged in clean linen bags and sent for storage.

For those who live in less sunny regions, another method of drying pears will be more convenient. In the oven, this procedure takes about a day. The fruits or their slices should be spread on a baking sheet in a single layer and dried over low heat, turning frequently. For those who are accustomed to relying on a thermometer, the optimal mark is considered to be 70-90 degrees. Ready drying It should be viscous on the teeth and not release moisture when bent. Of course, it will take more time to cook whole pears than cut ones.

It’s not enough to know how to dry pears for the winter; you also need to save your work. Any dried fruits are best stored in fabric bags; you can also place them in glass jars or plastic containers with a tight lid. But polyethylene bags can be attacked by insects or rodents. This preparation does not tolerate moisture well and easily absorbs foreign odors. It is preferable to store in small portions, since if a pest appears in one of them, the rest may not be affected. Check inventory regularly to identify and remove spoiled product in a timely manner.