Pear Tarte Tatin

[slkinsey]

Admin: Split from thread on Brown Liquor for baking.

I'm thinking of making an Asian pear tarte tatin or something similar for Thanksgiving dinner and maybe a Bourbon Butterscotch sauce would be good on the side.

Sounds good! I love making pear tartes tatin. This is perhaps getting away from the booze subject, but why Asian pears? Don't they have kind of a grainy/sandy texture?

Getting back to booze, I like making pear tartes tatin with a little Poire William added, and perhaps flamed over the top at the end. Just ramps up that pear flavor.

[eje]

I'm thinking of making an Asian pear tarte tatin or something similar for Thanksgiving dinner and maybe a Bourbon Butterscotch sauce would be good on the side.

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Also outside of the booze realm.

I hate to discourage experimentation; but, I have 2 comments about this plan. One is that tart tatin already has a lot of caramelization going on. Adding a caramel or butterscotch sauce to it might be a little too much of similar flavors. How about a seasoned whipped cream? Second, I love Asian pears; but, most of their perceived flavor is in their scent. Cooked, in the method of a tart tatin, I think you will find you might as well have been using jicama.

[KatieLoeb]

Luckily for me, I have the value added bonus of having North Star Orchard be local and readily available with boutique varieties of Asian pears at my local farmer's markets. Their fruits, especially the Asian pears, are absolutely the best fruit I've ever eaten. The Hosui variety of Asian pears in particular, has a lovely texture (the perfect cross between an apple and a pear) and is quite sweet and delicious. I hoard them in the autumn because they keep well in the crisper drawer throughout the winter. They smell AND taste great.

I've made cobbler and baked Asian pears with these local fruits and never been disappointed with the end result. Your point regarding the overwhelming flavor of a butterscotch sauce is well taken, but the fruit is glorious, and on second thought, actually may not require any gilding of the lily. And it has definitely never come out like jicama! I suspect this boutique orchard has got it all over the commercially available Asian pears that are all texture and no flavor. The pears ship well I think, at least according to their newsletter. I'll see what's still at the local market this weekend. I'll ask about the supply and whether I can still get my fix. If there's any left over I'll mail you one!

[eje]

I've made cobbler and baked Asian pears with these local fruits and never been disappointed with the end result.  Your point regarding the overwhelming flavor of a butterscotch sauce is well taken, but the fruit is glorious, and on second thought, actually may not require any gilding of the lily.  And it has definitely never come out like jicama!

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OK, I'll keep quiet next time.

I did some baking with them last year, and found I preferred the little bit of acid that regular pears and apples have to the more subtle charms of asian pears.

My favorite cooked application for them is something like this simple Steamed Ginger Pears preparation from Martha. Talk about your aromatherapy...

[chiantiglace]

In Philli where your at Katie, there is a restaraunt called "Susan Foo" on walnut street. In my feb/march 2005 addition of Chocolatier she has made an asian pear tarte tatin which looks great (for the tatin part) unfortunately all thats on the plate is the tatin and some pomegranate seeds. Personally I would be dissapointed. I've also done asian pear tart tatin, They fit perfectly in large muffin molds.

I do very much like the flavor of asian pears, but it seems not as many people as I would suspect do. Maybe theres just a bad version rolling through the streets scaring people away from them.

[Pontormo]

I like the experimental, creative spirit that inspires you.

There was a two- or three-year per iod when the dessert I always served company was the pear tatin in Patricia Well's Bistro Cooking with creme fraiche.

If you need a simple, great recipe, I recommend using hers.

I also agree regarding choice of pears, though, since hard Bosc pears are the ones I turn to all the time, probably due to countless recommendations in published recipes.

However, I would have to question the comments above regarding the grainy texture of Asian pears as being unsuitable to a tatin, on second thought, since Bosc pears are also grainy, if in a less pronounced fashion. Maybe you just have to go with a very hard, unripe Asian pear. The recipe by Wells might work for them, too, only I would be tempted to use some freshly grated ginger.

Test one pear first by sauteeing it in butter and sugar for a long, long time and see if you get the same kind of juicy syrup that a Bosc pear renders. You could always use it to top ice cream.

Edited November 10, 2005 by Pontormo (log)

[chiantiglace]

asian pears can break down just as much as a bartlett pear. I've had some trouble skinning some very ripe pears before. Almost so soft and juicy that the skin could practically be peeled off.

I think ginger is a great addition to asian pears too.