Vanilla Chai Spice Dried Pears

A big box showed up in our dining room in mid-September with my name on the shipping label. 

It was my birthday but I still scratched my head. This September, I had been so stressed that I mostly avoided the topic of my birthday or gifts with anyone that asked— I certainly didn’t need anything, but I also just couldn’t find a minute to think about it clearly.

I had ordered nothing (though in the same minute that thought entered my mind I also started doubting myself— had I hit “buy now” on that Dehydrator I had been eyeing instead of “add to cart?”). 

When I got halfway through opening the box with a paring knife and found it was a Dehydrator, I doubted myself even further. So much so, that I stopped right there and pulled out my phone to check my order history.

Relief washed over me when I saw I had placed no orders in the last month, but I still had a mystery on my hands. I finished unpacking the appliance before drilling Oliver on who had bought it. It probably took me four tries to get it right, but when I did land on my dad it all made sense. I had given him a non-answer when he had asked about my birthday in general, so he had asked Oliver.

This new dehydrator was about five times nicer than any of the ones I was planning to buy myself! (THANKS DAD!)

So far, my absolute favorite thing to dehydrate has been pears.

This recipe is inspired by one I found in the book, “Dried and True”, a cookbook that takes dehydrating to the next level, moving it from boring old-fashioned recipes to new, inventive, and tantalizing flavors. I made the Dried Vanilla Pears from the book twice before venturing out on my own.

As soon as our first fall day hit, I immediately was dreaming about warmer flavors, like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Chai. And that’s how these pears came to be — a day dream, like most of my recipes 😉

In real life, each slice of pear was such a treat, I savored every one. We took them hiking, ate them around the house, and packed them in our bags for outings around town. I always looked forward to those delicious pears. I thought, for about 5 seconds, about sharing them with a few coworkers but greed got the best of me and I kept it to myself. Sharing the recipe is almost as good, right?!

This recipe is good for dehydrating-pros or a newbies like me. Make it while the pears are at their peak! I used Starkrimson Pears one round and Colorado Heirloom Pears another; Starkrimson are especially hardy pears so hold up well to the boiling and dehydrating process.

Vanilla Chai Spice Dried Pears

Published October 16, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 20 slices   |    Active Time: 8-9 hours

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Ingredients:

4 ripe pears (recommend Starkrimson)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

5 slices of fresh ginger - each about the size of a nickel

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/16 teaspoon ground cardamom

Pinch of ground cloves

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients but the pears in a sauce pan, and bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
2. Wash pears and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Remove seeds and cut of stems as you go.
3. Work with 3-4 pear slices at once: submerge pears in syrup on the stove, simmering slices for 10 minutes. Pears should be softened through but should not fall apart easily.
4. Use a slotted spoon to remove slices from syrup and set on a plate to cool for several minutes.
5. When all of the pears are done, spread them out on the wracks of your dehydrator, with at least 1/4-inch of space between each slice.
6. Place wrack in dehydrator and set to 135°F for 8-10 hours, until pears are dried but still chewy.

Roasted Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews

Thirty minutes before friends were set to arrive, I heated maple syrup in a skillet until it was sticky. I was making this salad from Saveur Magazine. No more than five minutes later, the cashews were candied and slowly disappearing while they cooled. (Who? Me? Steeling cashews from the pan? Never! 😏)

The cashews from that salad reminded me of the honey sesame cashews Trader Joe's sells in it's trail mix section. But better, because maple syrup. All things maple syrup are better, right? 

Those cashews sat in my mind for the next week. My eyes had been opened to something new: homemade maple cashews, and the flavor possibilities were endless. Maple Cayenne Cashews. Maple Cinnamon Cashews. Maple Rosemary? It could work. 

But the flavor profile that really got me excited was Maple Chai (you know how I love all things chai-spice). 

While I did no gifting of these cashews, and we ate most of them while they were still warm, they would also make a pretty little gift. Can you picture a mason jar filled with Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews tied up with a festive bow and a little name tag? Cute! And so sweet, in more ways than one. 

Roasted Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews

Published November 30, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups roasted, unsalted whole cashews 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground anise
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:

1. Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine cardamom, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, anise, and cloves. Stir to combine.
3. Heat maple syrup in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes, stirring, until it begins to thicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add spice mix to syrup, stirring to distribute.
4. Now, add cashews to skillet. Stir using a spatula or wooden spoon until all cashews are coated. Scrape cashews with maple syrup onto lined baking sheet and spread out into a single layer, breaking up large clumps. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes.

Homemade Loose Leaf Masala Chai Tea

Update! This recipe is one of my faves. I shot new photos in December of 2018, and updated the recipe a little bit. Watch the video below!

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My first introduction to this spicy drink was in middle school, when my mom brought home a carton of Oregon Chai concentrate. Little did I know that single discovery would take me on quite the Chai-adventure!

I quickly learned to love plenty of other types of chai — and began to prefer spicier flavors over sweeter ones (if you’ve tried Oregon Chai, you know it’s pretty dang syrupy!). Bhakti Chai was a small start up in my home town at the time, and I fell in love with the pungent ginger in each sip. A mug of Bhakti Chai became a very special treat when I went to college — something I’d buy myself when I went to the school library during finals week.

I visited India with my dad when I was about 15. There, chai was served out of little carts on every street corner. It was called “Masala Chai,” because the word “chai” in Hindi simply means “tea.” Each cart served up their own recipe, a proprietary blend of spices and served with raw sugar. I scribbled down one recipe from a woman in Udiapur, and have been using that as my baseline ever since. But that’s the thing with Masala Chai: everyone’s version is slightly different. Some people want it sweet and cinnamon-y. Others want the ginger to be bright and bold and in your face. Me? I’m a cardamom lover, though I don’t object to the ginger, either. I also prefer honey over sugar. Lately I’ve been digging this Lazy Bee Ranch Whipped Honey, made locally in Colorado.

Once you’ve made Masala Chai three or four times, you’ll start to realize which camp you sit in, and you can adapt your own recipe to match exactly that.

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Making chai at home is far superior in terms of flavor than buying tea bags. It’s also far cheaper than buying pre-made concentrates. If I’m going to make a big batch of chai at home, I’ll use fresh ginger root and simmer it with spices in a soup pot. It usually doesn’t last more than a day — we drink it non-stop until it’s gone.

This recipe, however, calls for ginger tea (not crystallized ginger, but dried ginger) instead of fresh ginger. Why? Well, sometimes a girl wants her chai and she doesn’t want to bowl a whole soup pot just to get a mug of it! 🙃Using dried ginger means you can keep this tea in your cupboard with the rest of your teas, and brew a mug at a time on demand whenever you please. It’s the best for when I need a pick me up on a work day.

I also almost always make a hot mug of chai in my thermos when we go climbing or hiking in the spring, fall, or winter. It keeps me warm when it starts to get chilly, and I enjoy the caffeine lift in the afternoon.

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Homemade Loose Leaf Masala Chai Tea

Published June 10, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yield: 15   |    Active Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

12 cardamom pods

4-5 whole cloves

8 black peppercorns

3 whole allspice berries

Pinch whole anise seeds

1 cinnamon stick (about 2-3 inches long)

3 tablespoons black Assam tea (English breakfast works too, if it’s all you can find!)

2 tablespoons dried ginger tea

For serving: water for brewing tea, and honey and milk to taste

Directions:

1. Place cardamom pods, cloves, peppercorns, allspice berries, anise seeds and cinnamon stick in a small skillet. Toast over low heat, stirring, until spices are fragrant.
2. Scrape spices into a mortar and pestle, and roughly grind the spices.
3. Combine Assam tea, ginger, and ground spices in a bowl or jar. Stir to combine.
4. Tea can be stored at room temperature in an air tight jar for quick some time — it may start to loose some of it’s flavor after a few months.
5. To brew: Heat 8 ounces of hot water. Place tea in a fine mesh tea stainer in a mug, and pour water into mug. Allow to steep for 5 minutes, then remove tea and strainer from mug. Sweeten with honey and milk to taste.
6. You may find that the bottom of your mug had spices in it — that’s where all the flavor comes from! I avoid drinking that very last sip, just like I might avoid taking the very last sip of sludgy French press coffee. Personal preference!