pear pie

[sabg]

i just got 8 pears and they have to be eaten today...could i make a pie with them...would they act like apples with releasing juice etc..

[wfnugent]

i just got 8 pears and they have to be eaten today...could i make a pie with them...would they act like apples with releasing juice etc..

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Pear pie is my all-time favorite

They do - my wife has a great recipe from a Williams & Sonoma Pies cookbook - the trick is to add a couple of teaspoons of brandy - makes a big diff. Otherwise it is just like apple pie

(I would post the recipe but I'm at work and the book is at home. I will look for it tonite - if it not too late, I will send it to you. Google Pear Pie Brandy seems to bring up some good ones)

Bill

[sabg]

thanks so much, i will definatly wait..ummm brandy

[wfnugent]

thanks so much, i will definatly wait..ummm brandy

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Here you go...

The recipe is for apples and pears but Bride just uses pears

Your fave dough recipe to top and bottom

3 large pears, peeled, cored and sliced

3 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons dry or sweet sherry (or what ever else is around - calvados works too, I bet rum would be good)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablesppon heavy cream

1 tablespoon raw or granulated sugar

preheat the oven to 425

roll out the pastry dough to line a 9" pan, roll out the top and set aside

in a large bowl combine the apples and pears and toss with lemon juice

in a small bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt

toss mixture with fruit to combine

add sherry and toss until completely mixed

pile fruit into crust, dot with butter and cover with top of crust

cut a few vents

brush top with cream and sprinkle with sugar

bake for 30 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and bake until crust is browned and the fruit is tender when pierced by a knife, about 35 minutes longer.

Please send your address and I will bring the ice cold milk that goes so well with the pie.

[ludja]

I made a great pear pie last autumn for the first time (from Bill Neal's "Biscuits, Spoonbread and Sweet Potato Pie". (great cookbook)

For a "regular" 9" pie pan the recipe uses ~ 6 cups ( 2 1/4 lbs) pears and it uses 1/2 cup sugar and 1 3/4 Tbs cornstarch. Dot with butter before putting on top crust.

I used Bartlett pears that were pretty ripe.

The other flavorings in this pie were fabulous: 2 Tbs chopped crystallized ginger (which I doubled the second time I made it--but I'm a ginger fiend), juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp tangerine zest and 1/8 tsp salt.

[k43]

How about a pear Tarte Tatin?

Any changes fron the standard recipe, to avoid a woody texture and make up for the lower level of sweetness?

[BeJam]

How about a pear Tarte Tatin? 

Any changes fron the standard recipe, to avoid a woody texture and make up for the lower level of sweetness?

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I tried a pear tart recipe from Nick Malegeria. It was an apple tart that he suggested using pears with that starts with a sauce of sugar and a little lemon juice, cooked to a deep caramel then add butter, brandy, and cut up pears until they release their juice. Then the mixture is put into a tart crust and baked. DELICIOUS!!!!! It was so good, that the first time I made it there were no leftovers and I had to make another one the next day with my two remaining pears.

[takomabaker]

Another noteworthy pear pie is the pear cardamon custard pie from Four Star Desserts. It was the most popular pie on my Thanksgiving table last year.

[ludja]

Another noteworthy pear pie is the pear cardamon custard pie from Four Star Desserts. It was the most popular pie on my Thanksgiving table last year.

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Thanks for pointing this out takmabaker... I have a whole new interest in pear pies after making the ginger one last year.

[ludja]

Although I haven't learned this from experience, I just read this in Richard Sax' "Classic Home Desserts". According to him, juicier pear varieties like Bartletts or Comice throw off more liquid and you might need to adjust the recipe for this, for instance by adding some cornstarch. Bosc or Anjou are drier and may need less or no added ingredients re: the juiciness. He recommnends Anjou, particularly, for their flavor.

Ripe (but not ultra ripe) Bartletts worked well for me in the recipe I referred to above which has some cornstarch in it.

edited to add: Sax' book has a bunch of nice looking reicpes for pear pies, tarts, and galettes.

Edited September 16, 2005 by ludja (log)

[annanstee]

It's really good in a cobbler with fresh ginger too.

[Steven Blaski]

Marcella Hazan, in her first or second book (and collected in the later "Essentials"), has a tasty and extremely quick and easy to make pear tart, which is really more like a pear cake. Couple of pounds of pear slices tossed with an egg-milk-sugar-flour batter and baked. Called, I believe, Farm Wife's Pear Tart. In the headnote she says something like - "only a wilful act of sabotage could ruin this easy to make cake." It really is a snap and delicious to boot.

[Kim D]

I wonder what "willful act of sabotage" I committed . I made Marcella's Pear Tart and was not impressed.

I mixed the ingredients with a fork. Perhaps that was it. I had beaten the eggs (cold from the fridge) with the fork and figured if the recipe couldn't be broken, why not just continue with the fork?

I used Bosc pears from my local Farmer's Market. I used Panko for the bread crumbs. It says to make small hollows with your fingertip but the hollows disappeared so I just stuck in slivers of butter here and there. I might have used a couple teaspoons worth. And I used 12 cloves. I should have used a bit more salt.

The taste was fine. Just no big deal. There's a recipe for Pear Tart from Chowhound that I make often. I wish I had made it this time.

Now that I look at that recipe, I see that the Chowhound recipe uses an entire stick of butter . Now it makes sense. Maybe I didn't do anything wrong. Except for needing a tiny bit more salt.

- kim

[Woods]

i just got 8 pears and they have to be eaten today...could i make a pie with them...would they act like apples with releasing juice etc..

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Pear pie is good with a quince added too.

[ludja]

Another tip I just saw persusing through some old American regional cookbooks is to make an open faced, "Dutch Pear Pie". Make a dry mixture of sugar, flour, freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of salt. (about 1 cup of sugar and 6 Tbs of flour). Put alternating layers of sliced pears and sugar mixture into an uncooked pie shell. Pour a cup of heavy cream over and bake at 350 until it is set. Let cool a bit before serving. Sounds good to me...

[Redsugar]

Fresh cranberries are now available here in the N.E. – mix them with pears for a dazzlingly colorful pie, cobbler, or crisp. K43’s input, above, excellently suggests making tart tatin (possibly using a combination of peaches & pears) – for which, if I may so observe, Amaretto Ice Cream is a hedonistic accompaniment.

As for Pear Pear, consider using a hazelnut crust and serve it with Milk-Chocolate Ice Cream (a worthy recipe for the latter is offered by Stephen Durfee in Fine Cooking #40, pp. 54f.). A ground vanilla bean (or Cook’s vanilla powder) is a an ideal ingredient to include in the crumble topping, along with flour, sugar, and butter. Allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple, and Marsala also pleasantly accent the flavour of pears – which is to say, such flavorings could be used in the filling or in a sauce anglaise. And, yes, crystallized ginger and either aged white cheddar or goat cheese “pair well with pears,” too. (Especially when served with luscious pear butter spread over muffins & quick bread!)

Please note the filling ingredients for the premium-rated, comfort-food Pear Pie served at the Stumbling Goat Bistro in Seattle:

12 ripe pears; 2 fl. oz. maple syrup; ½ cup golden raisins; 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon; 2 Tbsps. potato starch; 1 oz. butter.

I enjoy making an open-face pear tart in a toasted-nut pastry, brushing the fruit with apricot glaze, boosted with pear liqueur. (Red currant or raspberry jelly can also be used.)

Choosing the most suitable variety of pear for a specific type of dessert is almost as crucial as the right selection of apple. Referring to notes I’ve recorded in my baking journal: Pear-Apple Compote (Anjou or Bartlett); Tart Tatin (Bosc); Chutney (Bosc); Brandied Pears (Forelle or Seckle); Poached (Bosc, Comice, Forelle, Seckle); Caramelized with Madeira (Rocha); Pear Jam (Bartlett).

My top-ranked pears for eating out-of-hand are Concorde & the delicately perfumed juicy-sweet Taylor’s Gold from New Zealand.

A book to consult is The Great Pear Book (Ten Speed Press, 2000) by Barbara Flores. (See, e.g., her recipe for a classic elegant dessert that can be re-imagined in so many subtle ways...Poire Belle Hélène. She serves hers with a Fra Angelico Chocolate Sauce.)

[amccomb]

After thinkng about this for awhile, I'm torn. I love the idea of ginger, of maple, of brandy, of cardamom, and of walnuts. However, I'm sure if I add ALL of those, the flavors will get lost. What would be a good combo of flavors? I was originally thinking of maple and walnuts, but I really feel like I NEED to add brandy, so brandy is a must, and I think some sort of nut for contrast is a must, and then I want to add another layer of spice. What should I do?

Also, I've been thinking of making it a custard pie, but I'm torn on that, too. Plus, I don't have a tried and true recipe, and I don't want to mess up the Thanksgiving pie!

Edited October 24, 2005 by amccomb (log)