An odd type of pears
 

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

Goomba 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?

You could put them into cole slaw:

Pear Slaw with Honey Pecans (from _The Bold Vegetarian_)

6 cups finely shredded cabbage
1 red bell pepper, seeds and inner ribs removed, thinly slivered
*or*
3/4 cup grated carrots
1 firm, ripe pear, cored but not peeled, finely chopped
Peanut Mayonnaise (recipe follows) or Sesame-Banana Whip (recipe follows)
Salt and white pepper to taste

Garnishes:
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Honey Pecans (recipe follows)
Chopped cilantro or parsley, or thinly sliced scallions

Place cabbage, bell pepper, and pear in a large serving bowl. Add dressing
and mix well. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Refrigerate for at
least 30 minutes. Just before serving, stir to combine the ingredients with
juice that may have accumulated at the bottom. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Garnish with cumin seeds, sesame seeds, pecans, and cilantro.


Honey Pecans

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon sugar
10 to 12 whole pecans

Heat honey or maple syrup and sugar in a small skillet until it starts to
bubble. Add pecans and stir gently to coat with the sugar-honey mixture.
When the mixture has formed a glaze around the pecans, remove them from the
heat. Transfer to a plate, keeping the pecans separate so they don't clump
together. Allow to cool.


Peanut Mayonnaise

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 large egg [see Note]
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Place garlic, egg, peanut butter, and lime juice in a blender and spin on
medium speed until thoroughly mixed. Set blender on low speed. With the
motor running, add oil, a drop at a time at first, then in a slow steady
stream as the mixture thickens. Remove to a small bowl, add salt, and
refrigerate until ready to use

You can also do this by hand: Place the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl
and whisk them together. Add oil as described above, whisking until the
mixture is thick. Yields 1/2 to 1 cup.

[Note: If you'd rather not use a raw egg, substitute 1 tablespoon commercial
mayonnaise for the egg, as Jacques Pepin, the noted French chef, suggests.]


Sesame-Banana Whip

1 medium-size ripe banana, unpeeled
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted and ground
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, or more as needed
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds

Place the unpeeled banana on a baking sheet. Broil 8 to 10 minutes, or until
the skin is thoroughly blackened, turning once. Allow to cool completely.
Peel and discard skin. Mash the pulp and measure out 1/2 cup.

Process banana pulp, lime juice, ground sesame seeds, and buttermilk in a
blender or food processor until smooth. The mixture should have the
consistency of mayonnaise. If too thick, add a little more buttermilk. Add
salt.

Heat oil in a small skillet until sizzling. Add mustard seeds and cook
until they pop. (Hold the cover briefly over the skillet to keep the seeds
from flying out.) Pour this mixture over the banana mixture; stir. Serve
at room temperature or chill for 45 minutes.

NOTE: The salad benefits from the richness of Peanut Mayonnaise, but the
lower-fat Sesame-Banana Whip also works well.

BOB'S NOTE: Goomba, since you've got plenty of pears and they're light on
pear flavor, I'd cut down on the cabbage in this recipe. I'd core the pears
and then simply shred them (since you say they're firm) to make up for the
cabbage that is being left out.


Bob

Goomba 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?

I already replied once, but it was a fairly long post, and I had another
idea which fits better into a shorter post:

Cut the pears into quarters and remove the core and stem. Heat butter over
medium-high heat in a sauté pan and cook the pears cut-side-down, turning
from one cut side to the other when the first side begins to caramelize.
When you begin cooking the second cut side, add some sliced onions. When
both sides of the pears are golden brown, the onions should have begun to
pick up some color as well. Lower the heat to medium-low, add some chicken
livers, and cook for about five minutes. (The chicken livers should still be
pink inside.) Remove the livers, pears, and onions from the pan into a
serving dish. Deglaze the pan with sherry, scraping up all the crusty bits
from the bottom of the pan. Add some heavy cream, stir to combine, and pour
over the liver.

(If you don't like chicken livers, you could do something similar with pork
chops.)

Bob

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

I don't have any suggestions other than eating out of hand or using in a
fruit salad, but it does sound like you have Asian pears. They are
crisp and refreshing, but do not have the depth of "pear" flavor we're
used to.

On Sun, 21 Aug 2005 10:29:44 -0400, 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.

Pear apple? http://www.wingmau-fruit.com/fruit/apl_pear.htm
http://nv.essortment.com/pearsapple_rldo.htm

> 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?
>

I eat them out of hand or sliced/raw with brie.

Apple-Pear Crisp
http://www.math.columbia.edu/~zare/apcrisp.html

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

Used to have a neighbor who had a similar tree. The best we came up with
was to make pear sauce. Cooking them brings out the flavor so think of
dishes you like where you can include/substitute the pears.

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