Pears, pears, pears

[regentrude]

I have a huge box of pears. My fridge is half full of pears. We can only eat so many raw - I need pear recipes.

I do not have a big freezer, only a small cube on top of my fridge, so I will freeze some, but not most.

What are your favorites?

[HRAAB]

I just made 12 pints of pear butter.  I'm offering pears to everyone I meet. 

[Barb_]

Do you have a tree? I can't imagine liking pears enough to have a freezer full, lol. They aren't the most versatile of fruits. You could maybe mix it with apples and make an apple-pear sauce and freeze that in 4 container portions.

[Barb_]

I just made 12 pints of pear butter. I'm offering pears to everyone I meet.

Ah. So it must be a regional thing. I've never lived in a place where people were pressing pears on me :)

[regentrude]

Do you have a tree? I can't imagine liking pears enough to have a freezer full, lol. They aren't the most versatile of fruits. You could maybe mix it with apples and make an apple-pear sauce and freeze that in 4 container portions.

 

No, no tree - just got a very inexpensive large box at the orchard where I usually buy my apples.

We love pears, especially DH.

I want to make something that I don't have to freeze - no freezer.

[regentrude]

I just made 12 pints of pear butter.  I'm offering pears to everyone I meet. 

 

how do you make pear butter? Doesn't that take awfully long to cook down? (No crockpot here)

[madteaparty]

I have the same problem, three trees full. And they are the green kind, not the soft yellowish kind. I have been wondering about making chunky pear sauce to freeze or can (let's pretend I'm really going to can, LOL)  to serve up with oatmeal and such in the winter.

Though they probably need peeled and that will just ruin my day and my hands too...

[SparklyUnicorn]

pear sauce (instead of apple sauce), pear chips (link below)

 

http://www.marthastewart.com/313696/apple-and-pear-chips

 

 

[HRAAB]

how do you make pear butter? Doesn't that take awfully long to cook down? (No crockpot here)

 

Yes, it does take a long time to cook down.  I ran the pears through a saucer, added sugar and spices and let it cook all day (about 11 hours) until it was thick enough to bottle.

 

I tried drying them one year, but no one in the family liked them.  I can pears to eat during the winter, but I still have a number of jars left from last year.  I've also made pear sauce (just like applesauce).  It didn't need to cook down as much as the butter.  It was okay.  In my opinion, pears are best fresh.  They are a favorite for a couple of my girls and dh.  Other than just canning (or freezing) them or making pear butter, I'm not sure what to do with them.

 

What about pear preserves? 

[madteaparty]

Yes, it does take a long time to cook down.  I ran the pears through a saucer, added sugar and spices and let it cook all day (about 11 hours) until it was thick enough to bottle.

 

I tried drying them one year, but no one in the family liked them.  I can pears to eat during the winter, but I still have a number of jars left from last year.  I've also made pear sauce (just like applesauce).  It didn't need to cook down as much as the butter.  It was okay.  In my opinion, pears are best fresh.  They are a favorite for a couple of my girls and dh.  Other than just canning (or freezing) them or making pear butter, I'm not sure what to do with them.

 

What about pear preserves? 

 

Did you peel for the pear sauce? I have a pressure cooker...

[HRAAB]

Ah. So it must be a regional thing. I've never lived in a place where people were pressing pears on me :)

 

We had a bumper crop of pears this year.  In fact, our fruit trees had a fantastic year.  I'm just so done with canning/drying/preserving.  I'm trying to convince dh to take out some of our fruit trees.  

[zoobie]

Pear preserves

[HRAAB]

Did you peel for the pear sauce? I have a pressure cooker...

 

No.  Peeling pears is a pain.  I have a food strainer/saucer that separates the peel and seeds from the pulp.  I wash, cut out bad spots, and if the fruit is hard (like apples) I heat the fruit to just soften it, and then run through the saucer.  Some of the pears weren't quite soft enough, and I heated them.  Otherwise, I just dumped them in the saucer.  I processed with a hot water bath.

[SparklyUnicorn]

What about pear ice cream?  I know, that's a freezer item, but that sounds interesting.  I never tried it, but I googled and there are plenty of recipes out there.

 

 

[Guest]

Dried pears.  Slice 'em, dip 'em in cinammon and dry 'em.

[Debbi in Texas]

Well, with four cups of chopped pears, you can make this delicious bread/cake.

 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/fresh-pear-bread

[Nan in Mass]

What about chutney? That might have enough spices to keep the cooked pears from being too bland and would be fairly simple to make. You could add ginger (which traditionally goes with cooked peats in my family) and cranberries or something to give it some tang and colour.

 

I have a similar problem with grapes. My vines are suddenly big enough to bear and I am overwhelmed with concord grapes. We,ll eat a lot standing next to the vines, but then what?

 

Nan

[Lady Marmalade]

I love Spiced Pear Butter.

 

http://ttrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/09/spiced-pear-butter.html

 

I also can pears in light syrup.  A little time consuming, but I always think it's worth it.  I love home-canned pears.

 

Pear pie is delicious, as is pear crumble.  I use fresh pears in just about any recipe that calls for apples.  

[regentrude]

I have a similar problem with grapes. My vines are suddenly big enough to bear and I am overwhelmed with concord grapes. We,ll eat a lot standing next to the vines, but then what?

 

wine.

[El...]

This rather easy pear custard!  Oh, man, now I want some!   http://www.marthastewart.com/314801/custard-pie

 

Hey, DH, wanna run to the store for me?  :drool:

[skimomma]

You can make pear butter in the oven if you don't have a crockpot.  Just put strained puree, sugar, and spices in a roasting pan on a low heat (like 250).  Stir every once in a while until it is the thickness you want.  It will take all day but will smell heavenly.

[skimomma]

DP

Edited September 16, 2016 by skimomma

[Soror]

Yes, it does take a long time to cook down.  I ran the pears through a saucer, added sugar and spices and let it cook all day (about 11 hours) until it was thick enough to bottle.

 

I tried drying them one year, but no one in the family liked them.  I can pears to eat during the winter, but I still have a number of jars left from last year.  I've also made pear sauce (just like applesauce).  It didn't need to cook down as much as the butter.  It was okay.  In my opinion, pears are best fresh.  They are a favorite for a couple of my girls and dh.  Other than just canning (or freezing) them or making pear butter, I'm not sure what to do with them.

 

What about pear preserves? 

 

 

Dried pears.  Slice 'em, dip 'em in cinammon and dry 'em.

We absolutely love dried pears here, the whole family, just like candy.

[HRAAB]

We absolutely love dried pears here, the whole family, just like candy.

 

I was surprised no one liked them.  As a rule, we love dried fruit.  I think it was the texture mainly.  They got eaten but I was asked not to dry them again.

[Seasider]

You can make batches of pie filling. Pear is always good on its own for pie, but can be mixed with almost any other fruit for a good tasting pie.

 

I used to always have pie filling in my freezer. I typically used it to make more of a galette, though, because that was easier than an actual pie.

[Rachel]

My MIL invited me over to make pear honey this weekend. I have no idea how it's made but I think it's like jam that doesn't set up as much.

[Rachel]

Could you use them to make a bread similar to banana bread?

[Beth S]

pear sauce (instead of apple sauce),

 

This.  We've been making lots of homemade applesauce & not needing much sugar added.

The homegrown flavor is just heavenly, leaving some of the chunks in the final product.

 

We also love pear pie.  Just using a regular apple pie recipe, but using pears.

Pears are mild tasting, so they can be substituted in most any apple recipe.

Enjoy! 

 

[regentrude]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As i said, I can't freeze much - so it has to be stuff we will eat right away ;)

Today I made a pear compote to go with ice cream/rice pudding, and baked pear muffins.

 

[mommymonster]

This is a completely decadent cake... it doesn't use a ton of pears, but it's oh-so-lovely: http://www.cucinanicolina.com/pear-almond-upside-down-cake/

 

If our pear tree ever produces, I'd make pear sauce and then dry it in the food dehydrator for pear leather. 

[Alice]

This apple dessert is one of dh's favorites to make (he's the baker in our house) and he has made it with pears and it's very good as well. 

 

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/custardy-apple-squares

[Nan in Mass]

This apple dessert is one of dh's favorites to make (he's the baker in our house) and he has made it with pears and it's very good as well.

 

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/custardy-apple-squares

This sounds great!

[medawyn]

This won't use up a lot of pears, but is our Christmas Eve dessert every year, assuming we can get our hands on very ripe pears: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/229775/creamy-baked-pears/

 

And roasted pear sauce, similar to applesauce.  I like to roast the pears, puree, and then cook down to thicken.  Also delicious if you roast a banana or two with the pears.

[HRAAB]

Well, with four cups of chopped pears, you can make this delicious bread/cake.

 

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/fresh-pear-bread

 

It's baking in the oven and smells delicious.

[nd293]

Poached pears keep for ages in the fridge. Mine have been there over a month. I poach the pears in the syrup, remove the pears then reduce the syrup further.

 

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/how-to-make-poached-pears/

[Lady Marmalade]

My MIL invited me over to make pear honey this weekend. I have no idea how it's made but I think it's like jam that doesn't set up as much.

 

Mmmm.  Pear Honey is the BOMB.  It has the sticky texture of honey, and is my favorite thing to eat on a toasted English Muffin.   It's also very easy to make.

 

Pear Honey

 

3 lbs fresh pears — peeled,cored,and finely chopped

5 1/2 cups  sugar

1 can crushed pineapple in juice — (8 ounce)

1 tablespoon  lemon juice

 

In a 6 quart stainless steel kettle combine all ingredients.

Bring to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Simmer 40 mins.

Spoon into sterile jars, leaving a 1/2 inch head space.

Wipe jar rims, adjust lids.

Process in boiling water for 10 mins.

Makes 7 half pints

[Pippen]

This Caramel Spice Pear Butter is our favorite!

 

http://www.food.com/recipe/caramel-spice-pear-butter-256372

 

[KathyBC]

Can them as you would peaches.

[Rosie_0801]

Pear and parsnip soup is pretty good. It's about the only way I'm willing to eat pears.

[nd293]

You can also use pear as a marinade for beef. It's a Korean thing and the recipe I saw asked for a specific type of pear (which when I saw one, was more apple-shaped) but we just used regular pears. The meat comes out exceptionally tender.

[Laura Corin]

Thanks for all the suggestions. As i said, I can't freeze much - so it has to be stuff we will eat right away ;)

Today I made a pear compote to go with ice cream/rice pudding, and baked pear muffins.

Clafoutis.  I haven't made it in years, so I don't have a recipe, but it's good.

[ThursdayNext]

https://smittenkitchen.com/recipes/fruit/pear/

 

If you want dessert, try smitten kitchen. Her recipes are awesome. Pear crisp is also good, and canned pear sauce or pear apple sauce is yummy.

 

For breakfast, a pear puff pancake with whole wheat flour. Or try plain Greek yogurt with a soft pear, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a dash of vanilla, and maybe a bit of real maple syrup.

 

For lunch, a pear pomegranate salad, with grilled chicken, walnuts, and your favorite vinaigrette or pomegranate dressing. Also yummy with a soft juicy pear, an almond butter and pear sandwich with whole grain bread.

 

For supper a grilled pork chop with caramelized pears and onions, or a different main dish and citrus pear pomegranate fruit salad on the side.

 

(I know pomegranates are not in season yet, but pears keep in the fridge a long time. Just take them out for a few days when you want them to be ripe.)

[KathyBC]

I'm a fan of grilled fruit and cheese sandwiches.

[katilac]

We had pear salad at a restaurant the other day, it was delicious -mixed greens, sliced pears, goat cheese, candied pecans, white balsamic vinaigrette. 

 

 

[Liz CA]

After you've made pies and muffins you could try baking the pears in a little butter (either whole or sliced) and douse them with red wine and some cinnamon. This is especially good in the fall. Too bad it's going to be at least another month before we have real fall weather where I live.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Liz CA