For needful pears, drying was the easiest method in the pioneer early work. They were readily available and often preserved through this process. Pears were dried by laying out on brown paper or feed sack snippets as a clean surface in a sunny area and resting a repurposed coverlet over them to keep insects away. Cinnamon was often used to prevent molding. These bowl fillers are not tiny They measure a whopping 3 inches. Much closer to an authentic dried pear of the colonial times.