Waste Not {Pears}

I removed the stems and sliced them whole, vertically, with my mandoline at 1.5mm.  Next, I laid them out in a single layer on large cooling racks and placed them in the sunshine.  They took one full day of Arizona summer sun to dry sufficiently.  At this point they were barely pliable and so delicious!  I was surprised as how yummy they turned out, much better than dried apples and peaches.

 

If I did a lot of these, I would keep them in the freezer for long term storage to be assured they wouldn?t go bad incase there is still some moisture left.  It was surely a great way to preserve, we all loved them to munch on for a snack, but if we had copious amounts, I would make a galette and other fun baked goods.  8 large pears, once dried, took up the space of one quart jar.  I bet pears would make good fruit leather too, anyone tried it?