Pears

There are a few foods that shout fall and pears are one of them. We get them from Utah, and we’re just as partisan about them as we are about our peaches. Again, I don’t know why Utah pears are so perfect. They just are.

We bought two pear trees this year, and we’re going to do our best to raise them here in Cheyenne. I’m cautiously optimistic. If someone twenty years ago that I would be growing grapes here, I would have laughed. We did a lot of research on pears, and we think we can do it. I found that I didn’t know a lot about pears. For example, I learned that pears are unique in that they are best when picked unripe and then allowed to ripen off the tree. Choose hard pears and leave them on a counter to ripen. There are red pears, Bartlett pears, Bosc pears, D’Anjou; and all are lovely and tasty.

Like peaches, there are a variety of things you can do with pears. Eat them fresh – slice them and serve with a nice sharp cheese. Or eat them like an apple – down to the core.

I wanted to try poached pears this year, but most of the recipes I saw used wine or some kind of liquor. Since I don’t drink, I had to come up with my own creation:

POACHED PEARS

Ripe pears

Honey

Cinnamon

Lemon

Peel the pears. Put them in a pan and drizzle with the juice from the lemon. Then drizzle them with honey – a couple of tablespoons each – and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Now cook them over medium-low heat, basting occasionally with the honey/lemon sauce. When they look soft and are glazed with the sauce, they are done. Fabulous!

A great breakfast or brunch item are these:

Pear and granola muffins (Martha Stewart)

1 c. flour

¾ c. whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs

¾ c. packed brown sugar

½ c. plain low fat yogurt

2 tbs. unsalted butter, melted

2 D’Anjou (or whatever you have on hand) pears (2 c.), peeled and cut into ¼” dice

¾ c. plain granola 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, yogurt, and butter. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add egg mixture to well, and mix in flour mixture until just combined. Gently fold in the granola and pears.

Top with:

(or use an additional 3/4 cup plain granola)

½ cup granola

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup packed light-brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter 

In a bowl, toss together 1/2 cup granola, 1/4 cup each all-purpose flour and packed light-brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut 3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter into pieces; add to granola mixture, and rub in with fingertips until clumps form.

Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle with granola topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Then, pears make wonderful desserts. One of our favorites is: 

SPICY AUTUMN CRISP

TOPPING:

9 gingersnap cookies  

1/3 c. sugar      

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 tbs. flour

1/3 c. butter 

Place cookies in food processor; pulse till coarse crumbs form. Combine cookie crumbs, sugars and flour, cut in butter.  

FILLING:

3 ½ c. chopped peeled Granny Smith apple    

3 ½ c. chopped peeled Bartlett pear                              

½ c. chopped pitted dates or golden raisins         

¼ c. molasses  

¾ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

1/8 tsp. nutmeg        

1/8 tsp. cloves                                                 

Combine apples and rest of ingredients; toss well. Spoon into 8” baking dish. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. 9 servings.  

We LOVE this next one: 

Pear-rhubarb cobbler

Yield: 6 Servings

10 oz. frozen rhubarb

3 ripe pears

2 tbs. water

¼ c. sugar

2 tbs. cornstarch

¼ tsp. cinnamon

1 tbs. cinnamon red hots

1/8 tsp. salt

1 ½ tbs. butter

1 ¼ c. bisquick

1 tbs. sugar

2 tbs. butter, melted

½ c. milk

* Note: If rhubarb is unsweetened, increase sugar to 2/3 cup 

FILLING: Thaw package of rhubarb. Wash, peel, and core pears; cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Add to rhubarb along with water. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, cinnamon candies (red hots), and salt. Add to fruit mixture. Pour into greased 8-inch square baking dish. Dot with butter. Cover and bake in hot oven (400° F) 10 minutes, or until bubbling.  

CRUST: Combine biscuit mix and sugar; add butter and milk. Mix with a fork. Drop by spoonfuls on hot fruit mixture. Sprinkle additional sugar on top. Continue baking until biscuit is done, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Another dessert that is delicious and can be made closer to Thanksgiving when cranberries are in the store: 

Cranberry pear crisp (Martha Stewart)

4 to 6 firm pears, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (6 cups)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cups cranberries

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup (1 stick) chilled butter

¼ cup light-brown sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup rolled oats

Pinch of salt

Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 400° degrees. In a large bowl, toss pears with lemon juice. Add cranberries and 1/3 cup sugar; toss well.

Transfer to six 8-ounce ramekins (or a 3-quart baking dish). Sprinkle with topping (see below); bake until fruit is tender and topping is golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

To make the Oatmeal Crisp Topping: Pulse flour with butter in a food processor until pea-size clumps form. Add remaining granulated sugar and the light-brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, and salt; pulse until large, moist clumps form, about 10 times.

And if you STILL have pears left:

PEAR BUTTER

4 to 5 lbs. chopped pears – don’t peel or core them but remove any bruised or damaged parts

2 tbs. chopped fresh ginger (I didn’t have any, so I added ground ginger with the cardamom and nutmeg)

1 c. water

1 c. fresh lemon juice

3-4 c. sugar and/or honey (I used half sugar and half honey)

½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. lemon zest

Put the pears, fresh ginger (if you have it), water and lemon juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and cook till pears are very soft. This takes about 30 or 40 minutes. Remove from heat.

 Ladle everything into a chinoise or food mill. I didn’t have one, so I ladled it into a sturdy colander over another pan. Force the mixture through the holes and discard remaining solids (seeds, stems, etc.). This takes awhile, but it’s worth it!

Measure the resulting puree, and pour into a large, thick bottomed pan. For every cup of pear puree, add 1/3 c. sugar or honey. Stir, and add the spices and lemon zest. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Cook over medium heat, stirring often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook till mixture is quite thick, and a small bit placed on a chilled plate is not runny. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the batch and if you used honey. As it nears the end of cooking, watch for the plops (I can think of no other word to describe them) as the hot puree plops up from the bottom. They can burn you! Not that I’d know anything about that…

While the mixture is cooking, sterilize the jars and lids. You can do this in the dishwasher or in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

When the pear butter is ready and your kitchen smells close to heaven, pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal, allowing for a ¼” head space at the top. Store in the refrigerator, give to your friends, or seal them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Then you can give them to friends. Or have your friends bring over some delicious bread and have pear butter and toast. Wow!

 

When I made my pear butter this year, the cable TV tech guy was here, As soon as he came in the door, he said, "Wow, that smells so good!" Then he proceeds to start getting the cable hooked up. When he's nearly done, he comes back in the kitchen and asks, "WHAT is that smell? It just smells so good." "Pear butter,” I tell him. "Pear butter,” he sighs reverently and just stands in the kitchen. After awhile, he must have remembered he had other jobs to get to, and he wandered out of the house.

That’s how your kitchen will smell too and the neighbors will love you.