A plethora of pears

[heidih]

The two pear trees look like this

They are a Bosc type that ripens after picking. I have never cooked with pears in a savory application and would be interested in uses you enjoy.

[onrushpam]

Years ago, back in the Ozarks, we had an old pear tree that produced hard "cooking pears". They never really ripened/softened enough to eat without cooking. My husband's aunt used to make pear butter from them and always gave us a few jars. But, I really loved making this Pear Chutney, from the old Jackson, MS Junior League Southern Sideboards

It's so good with Indian food, or just along side roasts of all sorts.

I haven't made any for years, because I don't have access to pears like that.

1 qt cider vinegar

1/2 lb brown sugar

1.5 lb white sugar

30-35 firm, unripe pears, peeled, cored, sliced

7 onions coarsley chopped

7 cloves garlic sliced

1 lb seedless golden raisins

1 lb currants (I could never find these)

2.5 T salt

1 t cayenne

2 t paprika

2 2.5 ounce cans mustard seed

1 C orange marmalade

Grated rind of an orange

2 lemons thinly sliced

2 T curry powder

3 T crystallized ginger chopped (I think I used fresh ginger)

1 t each cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg (all ground)

1/2 lb dried apples (slices or coarsely chopped)

1/2 lb dried apricots (halved)

1 C dry sherry

Simmer sugars and vingear until sugar is dissolved. Dump in everything else except dried apples and apricots. Simmer 1 hour. Dump in apples and apricots. Simmer another 30 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Add sherry. Place in sterilized jars and seal. Yields 25 half pints.

[heidih]

That sounds like something I could play with. I am not canning this year, but I think it would freeze?

[heidih]

Now that you got me thinking along the chutney path, I am thinking of seeing if they do ripen a bit, and using them in place of part of the preserves and jelly in the Jezebel sauce we have been discussing. I would peel and cook them down into a sort of pear butter first. The recipe above using orange marmalade inspires me to also add in some calamansi marmalade. I have a test batch scheduled for next week on the calamansi.

[djyee100]

That's a lot of pears! Are you sure you won't be canning this year?? Some other suggestions...

-- A pizza topping of pears, gorgonzola, and walnuts. You could try this topping on focaccia too. When the bread comes out of the oven, brush the crust with some high-quality olive oil. You can also heat some honey in a small pan, until the honey thins out, and brush the pears with it--again, when the bread comes out of the oven.

-- I've cooked a fusion-style Asian pear and duck tostada, with greens and hoisin sauce, from Beverly Gannon's General Store cookbook. Bosc pears would be a fine substitute for the Asian pears. A complicated restaurant recipe, but perhaps it can give you some ideas. Available on Googlebooks, page 13.

http://books.google.com/books?id=hUK0obUbHHYC&pg=PA13&lpg=PA13&dq=beverly+gannon+general+store+asian+pear+duck+tostada&source=bl&ots=p-y7XLTmii&sig=xt_eY_b6linVzb6VtX9HMPdy844&hl=en&ei=m2yeTJa4EpC2sAP9yNXVAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBgQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

ETA: Besides the chutney, you could consider pear butter to handle your volume of pears. I recently overbought apples at the farmers mkt, so I made some apple butter. 3+ lbs of apples cooked down to a scant pint of apple butter. It was delicious. I had forgotten how great homemade fruit butter can be.

Edited September 25, 2010 by djyee100 (log)

[andiesenji]

This type of pear is ideal for making Pickled Pears such as these from The Splendid Table.

I have an ancient recipe for pickled pears - also the hard winter pears - handed down from my grandma but I tried this one a few years ago when I was reading through The Glass Pantry. (neat book)

These go beautifully with almost any meat or fowl but are especially good with duck, goose and game. I originally made them to go with a roast of wild boar.

You can use the same recipe for Asian pears - they are about the same structurally and hold their shape nicely.

You don't have to can them, you can reduce the size of the recipe and hold them in the fridge for several weeks.

Edited September 25, 2010 by andiesenji (log)

[heidih]

My neighbor just handed me the leftovers of a "dessert" he made with my pears: halved, cored, a bit of sugar & butter and cardamom and then baked till tender. They held their shape and the flavor is beautiful. Such a simple prep. The spice brings out their own spiciness. It also makes me want to play with them using the same prep minus butter and sugar- roasting them along with meat or veggies. There are still about a gazillion on the tree so my experimentation window is large. I do need to ask him how ripe he let them get before use as the texture really appealed to me.

[Chris Hennes]

Tangentially related, but on the subject of pears, any pear lover out there should check out Dave Arnold's recent post at the Cooking Issues blog:Pear Enlightenment and The Brogdale Farm. It sounds like there are some astonishing species of pear out there.

[heidih]

Thanks Chris. Mine look just like the De Duvergnes. They are not really grainy. There are some grafts in there so some are different, but nobody knows who did what. Keeps things interesting.