9/20 & 23/2020 – Washed some of the ripest of the sand pears; i.e. those that are a bit springy when squeezed with a strong yellow undertone. Sliced them with the mandoline at its max setting; 1/4″. Used our new dehydrator and they turned out very good. Made a second batch and will make more.
As each pear was sliced they were immediately dropped into a fixative bath made with Ball’s Fruit-Fresh Produce Protector (ascorbic acid) to prevent discoloration. The mix was 1 tbsp per quart of well water.
Dried the slices on paper towels and distributed on 4 of the dehydrator trays. The slices on the top tray were sprinkled with ground ginger and ground nutmeg. When dried those with the seasoning were fine but not so much better we are anxious to try more.
- 12:15 PM – The dehydrator with 4 trays of pears is set up and running at 135°F. We started them inside but within 30 minutes an odd smell–sorta like cardboard–was filling the house so move them to the carport where the humidity is 95% on a 65° late-summer/early-fall drizzly Sunday afternoon.
- 8 PM – Unplugged as they do not need to go all night.
- 5 AM – Restarted.
- 7 AM – Done
9/23/2020 – Sliced more with the mandoline and filled all five trays. Pretreated with the ascorbic acid Fruit-Fresh by Ball. Set it up on the bench in the carport at 3 PM on a cloudy, mid-70’s humid day. At 4:15 AM the next morning they were done. They turned out great. Leathery sweetness.
