Pears are not only delicious, but also very healthy fruits. I think their benefits are quite underappreciated, and still needing more research. I have few pear trees in my backyard, including the Asian pear, and last year they started to bear fruits. This year the crop looks quite promising - I’m looking forward to the harvest. Even before I was getting my own pears, I used store bought organic pears to make my preserves. Those were: pear syrup, pear jam (great for pies) and pear liquor. Those can all be made from the fruits, but the leaves of the pear tree… the leaves are a whole different story. I prune the pear tree in the spring when its leaves are young and soft, but already green. I pluck the leaves from the pruned brunches and dry them. Dehydrator will work the best, but since I have the stove with a pilot flame… this works the best for me. The oven is always warm and ventilated. I place the pear leaves on the cookie sheet, place them in the oven and leave them there for 2-3 days tossing them over 1-2 times a day. The pilot flame creates enough heat to dry the leaves evenly.
After the leaves are dry, I crush them with hands into flakes. It takes a spoonful of the flakes to make a cup of tea. Some people claim that pear leaf tea can lower the blood pressure. I’ll research that further, but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy a cup of caffeine free, organic, pear leaf tea. It has a delicate soothing, and relaxing flavor.
