Spiced Pear Leather

Right now we are in the middle of the summer bounty and this abundance of fresh amazing food is definitely one of the reasons I love living in the Northwest.

These were the best kind of pears. They were free from a friends tree and totally organic.

The down side to these organic pears. They are more work and not good for very many things. We have a similar apple tree in our yard. We don’t treat the apples and that means they have worms. They are mostly in the core and the worms have already left (thank goodness because that does wig me out a little) however, it’s not really fruit you just want to chomp into.

We had plenty of pear butter left over from previous years so this year it was time to do some leather.

It’s impossible to make pear mush look very attractive.

We have a dehydrator (affiliate link) so that’s what we use. I was able to make 4 trays similar to the one above. However, you don’t need a dehydrator to make this. You can do it just as easily with your oven.

Fruit leather is super easy to do. This is a guide, but you can spice and sweeten it however you want. Get creative!

Once the leather is finished I simply took kitchen sheers and cut it on the parchment. Then you still get all the fun of peeling a fruit roll up.

Spiced Pear Fruit Leather

Ingredients

• 5 lbs Pears
• 1 – 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Instructions

Core and quarter pears. If you’re going to use a food mill you don’t need to peal them but if not peel now.

Place in large pot and pour lemon juice over the pears. Cook on Medium-Low stirring frequently. Cook until fruit is soft.

Place pears in food mill and process to get rid of peels.

Place pear sauce back in the pot and simmer to reduce down. It should look like applesauce. Add spices and sugar to taste. Remember that flavors will intensify more as moisture is removed.

Spread out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or dehydrator rack. Get it as even as possible. Dry in the oven at 170° or follow your dehydrator manual. Dehydrate for 4-8 hours.

Will store in room temperature for several weeks, the fridge for 6 months and the freezer for a year.

Further Reading

• Oregon Live: Pear-Ginger Leather
• Home Made Simple: Homemade fruit leather
• Hunger and Thirst: Homemade Fruit Leather

I had an awesome little helper for the project. He definitely thinks the pear leather is a winner.