How to properly dry pears in the oven and electric dryer
In winter, it is not only pleasant, but also useful to enjoy the wonderful taste of aromatic pears. There are many ways to preserve these fruits. One of the most popular is drying. Next, we will talk about how to properly dry pears in several ways at home.
Features of drying pears for the winter
It should be remembered that this fruit processing has some peculiarities:
- Pears should not be overly juicy or overripe.
- Dried medium-sized fruits. Too large for drying are not suitable.
- It is desirable that these be the fruits of those varieties that do not contain a large number of seeds. Once harvested, fruits should not be stored for more than 2 days, as they become too soft and unsuitable for this storage method.
- The pears should have a firm texture.
- Viscosity badly affects the taste of dried fruits, so it is better not to take viscous varieties.
- The slices should not be more than 1 cm thick. Small pears, including wild game, can be dried whole.
Wild varieties can also be used, but the fruit must be ripe and fall from the tree by itself. Unripe fruits, as well as frozen fruits, are not suitable for drying.
Preparing fruit for drying
Before drying, the fruit should be pre-prepared. They do it as follows:
- unripe or spoiled fruits are removed;
- wash thoroughly;
- dried with a towel or naturally;
- dipped in boiling water for 15 minutes, then pulled out. If you have to dry the wild, then sugar is added to the water if desired.
- let the fruit cool well.
After this procedure, the fruits are cut, seeds are removed from them. Then cut into slices. The resulting workpiece is placed in a weak citric acid solution.
Drying pears at home
There are several ways to prepare dried fruit at home.
In the oven
For such drying, the prepared fruits are laid out on a baking sheet in one layer. The oven is preheated at a temperature of 60 degrees. A baking sheet with pears is placed in it and dried for two hours. Then the temperature rises to 80 degrees. Further drying in the oven of the gas stove takes about 20 hours. If the fruits are coarsely cut or dried whole, then up to 25.
The drying process requires monitoring every half hour.
During the drying process, the weight of the product is significantly reduced. The disadvantage of this method is that some of the nutrients in pears are destroyed during heat treatment.
In the microwave
This method is the fastest of all. In this case, a portion of fruit is dried for 5-6 minutes, but if the process is not controlled, the batch can be very easily overdried.
For such drying, you need to take a flat dish suitable for microwave ovens, arrange the pears in one layer and place in the microwave.
To properly dry the fruits, a power of 200-250 W is set, and the oven turns on for two and a half minutes. Then you should check the condition of the pears. They should spring slightly when pressed.
If necessary, fruits can be dried, but no more than 2-2.5 minutes.
In an electric dryer
This device is intended for drying vegetables and fruits. It is assembled according to the instructions, prepared pieces of pears are placed in it. They are dried at a temperature of 70 degrees.
In an electric dryer, processing lasts from 15 to 19 hours. From time to time, the pear wedges should be turned over to dry evenly.
Properly dried pears do not crumble and have a pleasant light brown color. They are elastic to the touch.
Air drying
This method is quite laborious, but it retains all the nutrients in pears. You can dry fruits naturally without laying them out, but piercing them with a needle and thread and hanging them to dry.
First you need to choose the right place for the upcoming drying. It must meet the following requirements:
- there should be no wind or dust;
- insects (mosquitoes, flies, midges) should not have access to the slices;
- cover threads with pears with gauze.
After such drying for 3-4 days, the fruits are removed from the threads and put into dry jars or containers for storage.
Make sure they are dry enough before placing them in a dry container for storage. It is important to make sure there is no mold on any piece, otherwise the entire batch will be spoiled during storage.
In a drying cabinet
Such devices are also designed for drying fruits, fish, meat, mushrooms. Unlike an electric dryer, more fruit can be placed here for processing, since several trays can be placed in it.
The drying process takes place by circulating hot air in the cabinet. Baking trays with prepared fruits load the cabinet, close it and set the temperature to 70 degrees.
During drying in the cabinet, you can also periodically open it and turn the wedges. This procedure takes 12-15 hours.
Drying ovens can be used not only on an industrial scale, but also if there are a lot of fruit trees.
In the sun
The place for this drying method must be sufficiently lit. Insects should not land on fruits.
Pears are dried in one layer on a flat dish or baking sheet. Drying is carried out in the afternoon in the sun, in the evening they are covered with gauze and cleaned into the room. Thus, the fruit is processed for 3-4 days, then stored in glassware.
Storage of dried fruits
To prevent the fruits from becoming moldy and spoiled, you should follow not only the drying rules, but also the storage conditions:
- Keeping it too long makes the fruit hard and unsightly. Therefore, dried fruit should be used whenever possible and not stored for more than a year.
- Do not store the dryer next to heating systems or various heaters.
- Stored product should be checked periodically to ensure it is free of mold.
- They should not be stored near the electric stove to avoid the appearance of condensation in the containers, which will later cause damage to the product.
It is best to store the dryer in glass jars with a sealed lid or in cloth bags.
Properly dried and preserved fruits will pleasantly surprise you with taste and aroma in the cold season.
