a bounty of asian pears

[grasswire]

A neighbor has offered the bountiful harvest of TWO asian pear trees. Has anyone here used them in ways that could utilize quantities? I cut some up and processed them in the dehydrator last night, but that doesn't seem as interesting as some kind of conserve or chutney or something.

And I'd appreciate recipes for salads -- can't wait to get some bleu cheese to go alongside.

[TygrBright]

1. I put 'em in clafoutis...

...here's the recipe I think. If the link works. I'm not real savvy on the cross-post linking thing.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=23465&mesg_id=23465

Anyway, they are fabulous in that. I'd just can them, as is, and use them through the winter in salads and desserts. Well, I'd do that if I could can. Which I can't.

whimsically,
Bright

[The empressof all]

2. Make Sauce

I have a tree and I use them just like I would apples. You can even make PIE!

[grasswire]

7. I'm thinking pear butter, too.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[wryter2000]

3. You mean the Asian apple pears?

I love those.

America's Test Kitchen had a great pears in caramel sauce recipe this past Saturday. Start a simple sauce (2 parts sugar to 1 part water). They piled the sugar in the middle of a frying pan and added the water and swirled a bit. That kept the sugar from forming crystals on the edges of the pan.

They put in halved and cored pear halves, cut side down. Cook rather gently, covered, until pears are cooked. Remove cover and boil at higher heat until syrup becomes caramel. Add some cream and cook into a caramel sauce.

It looked yummy. Christopher Kimbal was dancing. When Asian pears hit the farmer's market, I'm going to try it.

[NMDemDist2]

4. didn't we just have a link with Fair Award winning apple/caramel pies?

I bet they'd be great for those too

[grasswire]

6. yes, the apple pears

very crunchy, they are!

I saw some at farmer's market today for $2 per pound, so I feel lucky to have a huge supply for free, but have to think of some ways to use them.

[Warpy]

5. A pastry chef friend used to make a layer cake

with poached pears sliced paper thin between the layers. The cake itself was a generic yellow cake and the whole thing was glazed and then the outside covered with finely chopped pecans. Reserved pear slices decorated the top. There were four layers, two regular cake layers sliced in half.

The poaching liquid was water, pear liqueur, and sugar. I don't know what spices he used, but a poaching recipe online would clue you in. As I recall, the flavor was of PEAR, no spices in evidence.

For people without an embarrassment of pears, I'd imagine tinned pears in heavy syrup might suffice.

One of these days, I'll have to try to duplicate that sucker. Maybe you'll do it before I do.

[calico1]

8. We planted a tree this year.

It is supposedly supposed to start bearing fruit within 2-3 years. We will see. It would be nice. Around here one Asian pear costs around $1.50! I like them but don't buy them too often because of the price.