Looking for pear flavor

[Edward J]

Had a nasy shock the other day when my supplier sent me a new tub of pear compound....

Hold on, Force shields up! The compound I was using was the "Sucrea" brand, and was really nothing more than concentrated pear juice and some kind of a vegetable gum. I was using it in a butter ganche together with a healthy splash of a Pear eau de vie.

Supplier started carrying the "Braun" line now, and when I opened the jar I kicked myself, should read the label first! Thing reeked of acetone, read the label afterwards "Keep away from open flame, do not smoke..." Seriously! Ethanol was listed as second ingredient. Tried boiling off some of the schtuff with some pear juice, but the flavour was like bannanas and actetone.

So now what? I can't use straight pear eau die vie, I need some kind of a flavour booster. Not many pear jams around--matter of fact none. There's apple, and if I look hard quince, but no pear. I know pear concentrate is used in a lot of beverages, but I can't find it in consumer form. I though of running through dried pears throughthe meat grinder and then soaking it in eau de vie, but I can't find dried pears. I've cruised every health food store, all the usual dried fruit, but not pears. The closest thing I could find was a "trail mix" with alot of other fruit including pear.

Any suggestions?

[Batard]

Not many pear jams around--matter of fact none.

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You're right, Pear Jam is hard to find.

I don't know how much you need, but this actually sounds good. Check the ingredient list: Pears, Organic cane juice crystals, Pectin, Lemon juice. Hopefully you can get enough of it for your needs. You could always write to the seller and check availability.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pear-Jam-10-oz_W0QQite...6QQcmdZViewItem

I can't quite make out the brand name on the label ....

[Marya]

You might want to try the pear juice manufactured by Ceres. As far as I know they only use fruit- no added sugars or chemicals.

[paulraphael]

Are you working with such large quantities that you can't make your own?

I've had good luck with bartlett pears for this kind of thing. You can roast them first or not. I finely chop them and cook them down. If they aren't ripe enough to turn to mush I add water and simmer until they soften and then reduce again. If I want a bit of roasted flavor I let it brown.

The intensity isn't usually that strong, but it's a real 3 dimensional pear flavor. It's easilly expanded by a splash of poire william.

This has worked well in creme anglaise, pancakes, syrups, etc..

Edited December 16, 2008 by paulraphael (log)

[pastrygirl]

For pear liqueur, have you tried Belle de Brillet? It's pear infused cognac, quite yummy.

[baroness]

Here's a good source for dried fruit, including regular and organic dried pears: Look Here!

[Edward J]

Yeah, I guess I could make my own compote....

See, of the 30 od varieities of chocoaltes I make, the majority of them are fresh cream ganache, and they have a shelf life of only 3 weeks. Obviously I need a few varieties with longer shelf life. Butter ganache is one type. This is fairly shelf stable of about 2 mths, and is made of jam, butter, couveture, and flavourings. Booze of course, gives me great flavour and doesn't hurt the shelf life either....

Since jam already has a great shelf life my first choice is to use this, and I'm not too sure about making a compote, how long I can keep it, or the ganache. I know in Europe--particularily Switz. there are pear concentrates or "honey", basically a pear butter or jam, and these again are very shelf stable.

I'll try more hunting around at organic stores. I'm not a big fan of on-line shopping, but thanks for the pear jam tip, I might have to use it.

I use "Williams" the generic term used for pear eau de vie--in other words a pear brandy. The englisch word "Brandy" come from the Dutch "burnt wine", which is what brandy is, destilled wine. Fruit brandies (or eau de vies) are made by making a fruit wine and then destilling it: Kirsch(cherry) Williams (Pear) Pflumli a.k.a Slivowitz (plum) Raspberry, etc. Eau de vies typically have a far better flavour thaen infused or macerated brandies are are night and day compared to liquers.

[kalypso]

Have you seen or used the products from Perfect Puree of Napa Valley ? They've got pear puree. They sell both retail and non-commercial.

[etalanian]

I second the Perfect Puree suggestion. You can also make a flavorful pear concentrate by cooking down some 100% pear juice to 1/2 or 1/3 of its original volume. I've used this method to add a good punch of flavor to different things.

Eileen

[Batard]

I'm not a big fan of on-line shopping, but thanks for the pear jam tip, I might have to use it.

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I know what you mean, but since you would be dealing with a small producer and not a big company, I am sure you can easily talk to the owner and make arrangements. He's probably be happy to have a steady customer, and since you can deal with the one on one, it will probably work out better than some anonymous online transaction with a big company. Just on my own experience, I find working with small producers a pleasure. At any rate, you could probably gauge your comfort lavel with the producer after a quick phone call.

Good luck.

[Edward J]

Perfect purees puts out good product, I use the lemon and orange zest.

Butt-tum, ahmm....the going rate for a quart is around $12, about the same price for a kg of Bioron puree. reduce this by half and you've got $12 a lb, or double what I pay for good quality couveture.

Think I'll make inquiries into the jam.....