It is pear season and much like apples, pears will be peeled or
pared. How do you pare a pear or should a pear be peeled? Read on
if you really want to know.
It is pear season and much like apples, pears will be peeled or pared. How do you pare a pear or should a pear be peeled? Read on if you really want to know.
Generally speaking, the outer rind of a fruit or vegetable is the peeling, and the utensil used to remove it is the parer, such as a paring knife. Somewhere along the line of time the vegetable peeler was invented. It is used like a paring knife but has a blade that moves around to make it easier to peel or pare around the curves and bumps of fruits or veggies. So next time you peel away quickly in your car remember to pare things down a little by going slower or the peeler may get you. Peeler is a slang word in England for policeman.
I was surprised to discover there are more than 5,000 varieties of pears grown throughout the world. California is a big producer of some of those. Usually the pears are still a little under ripe when purchased, so it is recommended that you plan ahead by a few days. Allow them to ripen and soften on your counter until they are fragrant and sweet. If you are cooking or baking with them, they should be firm but ripe. For eating out of the hand, they taste best when soft and juicy ripe.
Whether you peel or pare the pears the following recipes are wonderful paired with your holiday menus. I especially like pared pears paired with a wonderful marsala or sauterne wine along with a small wedge of creamy blue cheese such as Gorgonzola. Enjoy!
PEAR MUFFINS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups (2 medium) cubed peeled pears
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel (the zest)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper baking cups. In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Add pears and toss to coat. In a small bowl, combine milk, oil and egg and beat well. Add to flour mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Divide batter evenly into the muffin cups. In a small bowl combine sugar and lemon peel and sprinkle evenly over batter in cups. Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and edges are golden brown. Serve warm.
PEARS WITH STILTON OR GORGONZOLA
Set a large wedge of cheese on a cheese platter. Allow to stand at room temperature for about one hour. To serve, do not peel or pare the pears, simply slice thinly and arrange around the cheese, cutting more slices as needed. Spread a dollop of the cheese onto the slice of pear. It is wonderful.
PEAR DIPPERS IN CURRY YOGURT
2 cups natural Bulgarian style yogurt
fresh firm but ripe pears, peeled and cubed
1/4 cup water
zest of 1 lemon
juice from the lemon
2 teaspoons good quality curry powder
snipped parsley
Gonzales San Benito County Sugared walnuts
Several hours in advance or overnight, strain the yogurt in a yogurt strainer or cheesecloth. When ready to serve, arrange the pear cubes in a beautiful dish. Combine water, lemon juice and zest. Sprinkle over the pears. In a bowl combine the solid yogurt (discard the liquids) with the curry and parsley. Place in a bowl. Dip pear slices into sauce. Serve with sugared walnuts.
PEAR AND CUSTARD DESSERT
3-4 pears, peeled
1/2 cup white wine or apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
1 small cinnamon stick
2-3 black peppercorns
1 1/2 cups milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup creme fraiche
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
mint leaves, if desired
First poach the pears: Combine the wine, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and peppercorns in a batter bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Microwave to dissolve the sugar, about 1 minute more. Cut pears in half and place in the syrup mixture. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high using 2 minutes per pear as a guide. Allow to cool. In the meantime, in another batter bowl, heat the milk and sugar on high for 2 minutes. Whisk well, and microwave another 1-2 minutes to dissolve the sugar. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks very well and then gradually add just a small amount of the hot milk mixture to the eggs, whisking well to warm them. Then whisk them into the hot milk. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Whisk well. Microwave another 1-2 minutes or until thickened slightly. It will be quite thin. Whisk in the vanilla and creme fraiche. To serve, arrange the pear halves in a baking dish. Drizzle with the sauce, sprinkle with brown sugar. Broil just until the custard starts to brown. Garnish with mint leaves and serve with a big spoon.
