Goomba38 wrote:
>
> While out yesterday I was given a bucket of what looks to be homegrown
> pears. Green with areas of brown just like melding the common green or
> brown pears together? They're squat and hard, yet the man giving them
> out said they were as ripe as they'll get. I peeled and tried one and
> it's a beautiful crisp light white inside with a hint of pear flavor.
> Not sour as if "underripe" yet not terribly sweet either? It almost made
> me think of something like jicama. I'd love to be able to do something
> with these so as to not let them go to waste. Has anyone ever come
> across such a pear? I have a wonderful ginger pear coffee cake from
> Penzey's recipes but unsure if they would be worth using here since
> these have so little flavor. A chutney perhaps? Pear sauce? Any suggestions?
>
> Goomba

That sounds somewhat like a Seckel pear. They are always
hard, in my experience. There used to be a Seckel pear
tree on the family family farm. I used to eat them from
the tree as a kid. I've seen recipes for poaching them.
They're not all that great raw, IMO.

Kate