Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Pears are ripening

The pears are getting ripe! Today I picked a bucket and made some ginger pear pie filling. There are still many, many pears on the tree if anybody wants some over the next few weeks.  These are cooking pears rather than dessert pears, but they make excellent pear butter, spiced pears, pear sauce, etc.
Tags: food, gardening, illinois, personal
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  • 14 comments
blue_meridian

blue_meridian

October 10 2010, 07:22:41 UTC 10 years ago

That's what I was doing today! If I manage to get through the ones I have now, there should be more ready in a week. Hopefully I'll manage to have these canned up in light syrup in the next few days.
rhodielady_47

rhodielady_47

October 10 2010, 08:23:03 UTC 10 years ago

I hope you're making your pear butter in a crockpot.
That's what I make my apple butter in and it's so easy to do it that way.
(The cooking fruit can't burn in the crockpot.)
:)
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

October 10 2010, 18:57:59 UTC 10 years ago

I usually just make the pie filling.
rhodielady_47

Re: Well...

rhodielady_47

October 10 2010, 19:42:45 UTC 10 years ago

It's all good.
Do you put your pie filling up in jars for quick use later on?
:)
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Well...

ysabetwordsmith

October 10 2010, 20:35:39 UTC 10 years ago

No, I put it in freezer tubs. I store spaghetti sauce the same way.
rhodielady_47

Re: Well...

rhodielady_47

October 10 2010, 21:05:48 UTC 10 years ago

May I please have a copy of your recipe--sounds delish--and I am soon to have a freezer of my own.
Adds to fall to-do list: Figure out which pear trees to buy for next spring.
:)

ysabetwordsmith

Re: Well...

ysabetwordsmith

October 10 2010, 21:15:02 UTC 10 years ago

It is not so much a recipe as a process:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/361694.html

This time I had fewer pears, and I used powdered ginger and ginger extract for the flavoring. I also added a couple tablespoons of tapioca starch to thicken the sauce -- marvelous stuff, that.
rhodielady_47

Re: Well...

rhodielady_47

October 11 2010, 00:06:04 UTC 10 years ago

Someone told me recently that they took frozen pears, ran them through a blender, then added sugar and condensed milk.
They said that it made a wonderful dessert that they called "pear ice cream".
Have you ever tried something like this?
:)
ysabetwordsmith

No...

ysabetwordsmith

October 11 2010, 00:29:16 UTC 10 years ago

I make pear ice cream ...
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/185019.html
siege

siege

October 11 2010, 03:29:58 UTC 10 years ago

And of course pear cider (just like the Woodchuck cidery).
ysabetwordsmith

Hmm...

ysabetwordsmith

October 11 2010, 03:43:03 UTC 10 years ago

In a blend, perhaps -- they're not the juiciest of pears, but they have some nice rough and woody notes when raw. The sweet doesn't really come out until they're cooked. Combine them with a few other varieties, though, and they'd have much the same effect as bittersharp apples: preventing the sweet juicy ones from getting insipid. Come to think of it, they'd be splendid for that in home brewing, too; they ferment vividly on the ground, and those nice base notes would survive in pear brandy or wine.
saffronrose

saffronrose

October 31 2010, 06:45:17 UTC 10 years ago

Do you happen to know what cultivar they are? Are they Bartletts, or a European variety?

I can't take most Bartletts, due to the grit cells, but Comice, Conchord, Conference, Warren, Packham, seckel (actually an American pear!)--bring them on!

I adore perry! Wyder's and Ace are my favorites.
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

October 31 2010, 17:33:41 UTC 10 years ago

The tree was sold as a Barlett, but it's clearly not. These are smallish russet cooking pears, not dessert pears. Yes, they have a high grit content and are crunchy raw. When cooked, they become tender and delicious, holding their shape well in pie filling. But they can also be cooked down to pear butter, sauce, etc.

Seckel is my favorite dessert pear. This is only the second year I was able to find some -- they are exquisite.
saffronrose

Re: Well...

saffronrose

October 31 2010, 23:01:13 UTC 10 years ago

You might see if you can find a Forelle (A singularly handsome and distinctive fruit, yellow with a crimson blush and trout-like speckling from which comes the name Forelle, the German name for trout (keeps better than trout!). Flesh melting and aromatic with a rich vinous flavor. The tree is very productive, but not cold hardy) or a Magness, which is a cross between Seckel and Comice (Soft, juicy dessert pear almost free of grit cells. Medium to large slightly russeted fruit, rich and ruddy yellow when ripe, with a highly perfumed flesh of the very best quality. Insect damage seems to be reduced in this variety due to thicker fruit skin. Resistant to fire blight and needs a pollinizer).

If you have a yard or a sunny patio, you might look to Trees of Antiquity for those varieties. I've been happy with my purchases from there.

I have a Comice pear and a Cox's Orange Pippin crowded between hazels and a not-really-a-Meyer lemon. Must move them.

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