Oven Dried Pears Food

OVEN-DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Heat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper (or a Silpat baking mat, if you're drying figs). Arrange fruit, cut sides up, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart, on pan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over fruit; depending on fruit's tartness, add more sugar.
• Transfer pan to oven; dry until fruit has shriveled, edges have dried, and centers are still juicy; timing will vary according to variety of fruit, ripeness, and size, 1 1/2 to 4 hours. If juices start to run, baste with juices every hour. Transfer pan to a cooling rack; remove from pan while still warm.

OVEN-DRIED PEARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 225 degrees. Line a pan with parchment. Cut each pear lengthwise into 1/8- to 1/4- inch-thick slices. Remove seeds and fibrous bits from each slice; arrange on pan, spaced 1/2 to 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sugar.
• Transfer to oven; dry until pears become firmer, slightly chewy, and shriveled around edges, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. Transfer to a wire rack. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, up to 2 days or frozen, up to 6 weeks.