Pears

[juliebove]

I am drowning in pears and need some ideas for things to do with them. I have canned 7 quarts of Bartletts (rest of family is not raw) and intend to do some more plus dehyrdate some. I've picked quite a few but there are plenty more high up on the tree that I didn't get to.

The other tree is a Comice, I think. I don't think those hold up well for canning unless I make something like a pear honey or butter and I doubt anyone I might give that to would eat it, except for my one friend in another state and I'm not going to try to mail something like that. Someone has suggested a pear sauce like an apple sauce. Not sure if that would work or not. Also have an apple tree that will need to be picked soon. Might try a combination pear/apple sauce, although my daughter turned her nose up at the thought of that. All of the information I've gathered is that Comice are best eaten raw. But a body can eat only so many pears before they go bad! I've given some to the neighbors who do not have pear trees. Will take a few to my dad but really he doesn't eat very many. And I don't know anyone else who likes raw pears. They all like canned pears but not raw.

I am going to look into dehydrating them. I'm sure I can do that, but not sure what I might do with the finished product. Heh!

Does anyone have any ideas for things I can do with the pears? My neighbor down the street would appreciate it too. Whoever owned her house before she bought it loaded up the yard with pear trees. She has even more than I do!

[Rawkinlocs]

HOW far is Bothell from Olympia?? I LOVE bartlett pears!!

I haven't done too much with them outside of eating them as/is, juicing them (pear juice or pear-apple juice is great!), I also blend them in with my smoothies and you could also puree them either alone or with other fruit like berries and make fruit leather!

Since you know how to can, perhaps puree some for the "sauce" in smaller jars and give to friends who have babies as baby food (?)

I think the apple-pear sauce might be good too!

Can you sell some to a local grocer or at a stand? I promise you if I lived closer to you I'd be there taking some off your hands!

[Frog]

How about raw pear pies? Could you give some of them away as gifts?

Make the crust with nuts, oil, sea salt and whizz up some pears with honey (if you do that)?

My raw apple pies and peach or apricot pies are yummy! :)

[juliebove]

HOW far is Bothell from Olympia?? I LOVE bartlett pears!!

I haven't done too much with them outside of eating them as/is, juicing them (pear juice or pear-apple juice is great!), I also blend them in with my smoothies and you could also puree them either alone or with other fruit like berries and make fruit leather!

Since you know how to can, perhaps puree some for the "sauce" in smaller jars and give to friends who have babies as baby food (?)

I think the apple-pear sauce might be good too!

Can you sell some to a local grocer or at a stand? I promise you if I lived closer to you I'd be there taking some off your hands!

I'm close very close to Seattle and Everett if that give you any indication. Can't remember how far Olympia is from here. Haven't been out that way in a while. I'm thinking maybe 2 hours? Don't know of any local markets who would buy them. And they're not certified organic. Although I don't use any sprays or chemicals on them, we bought this house 2 years ago and the former owners may have sprayed them with something.

If I could think of a way to get them to you, I would but with gas prices being what they are, I don't think it would pay for either of us to drive out that far to get them or deliver them.

I might try the fruit leather, but for some reason my daughter doesn't care for it and I really wouldn't eat much of it either. The only juicer I have is for citrus. We're not big juice drinkers here.

I was mainly hoping to find a use for the Comice pears. I know all the Bartletts I can will get eaten. I have 7 quarts of them sitting on the counter right now. Took me about 8 hours from start to finish. Gah! Hardly seems worth it, but everyone I know loves them so much so I guess that in itself is the reward.

[juliebove]

How about raw pear pies? Could you give some of them away as gifts?

Make the crust with nuts, oil, sea salt and whizz up some pears with honey (if you do that)?

My raw apple pies and peach or apricot pies are yummy! :)

I have given raw pears to everyone I know who will eat them and doesn't already have them. I am sort of in farm country here so most of my neighbors have more pears than I do! I did make one pie for my daughter. Wasn't raw though. She loved it. I don't think she would eat a nut crust. She's not too keen on nuts. I can't do a regular crust either due to her food allergies. This one had cornflakes in it.

I was hoping maybe someone would have a salad recipe or something that uses pears. I suppose what I could do is just cut up several kinds of fruit and put it in a big bowl. That's likely to get eaten in this house.

Seems a shame to let so many pears go to waste, but I do know that you can't just plant a Bartlett tree because it needs another type of pear for cross pollination. I'll keep searching. Gotta be some kind of use for them!

[berrymarymac]

Mmm, pears with walnuts in a salad!! Trying to think of other things, I know about cooked things to do with them, not really raw. Sorry

[Sharon in Colorado]

There's a nice looking pear walnut torte in the book Living Cuisine.

I like Rawkinlocs' fruit leather idea. Bananas, pears and cherries or strawberries sound really good.

Or make pear sorbet, freeze and puree the pears.

Or pear sauce. Just puree with cinnamon.

[SwishTN]

Oh, my goodness....

I would drive from Olympia to Seattle for pears! I would drive to Seattle for another reason, and then get the pears, too....

Go for it, Cheri!

Yummmmmmmy!!!!!


: )

[rawmaddie]

The only salad I know of including Pears is a Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans and Pear. Hope you love it. I do!

8 c. Spinach
Candied Pecans (look for raw recipe)
2 oz. brie chunks (hmmm...is there a raw equivalent?)
1 c. radicchio, torn
1 lg. pear, cut into 16 pcs

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. oj concentrate (substitute raw equivalent)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. garlic, minced

*credit for recipe - Rose Reisman "The Art of Living Well"

rawmaddie
started 100% raw July 10, 2006 at 145 lbs & 5'8".
Loving raw...130 lbs.

[Lay-Lay]

pear juice is really refreshing. I have pear trees and I enjoy it.

[juliebove]

There's a nice looking pear walnut torte in the book Living Cuisine.

I like Rawkinlocs' fruit leather idea. Bananas, pears and cherries or strawberries sound really good.

Or make pear sorbet, freeze and puree the pears.

Or pear sauce. Just puree with cinnamon.

Daughter is allergic to bananas. I could try the sorbet. Not sure how the texture would be on that though.

[juliebove]

pear juice is really refreshing. I have pear trees and I enjoy it.

I'd have to get a juicer though. Don't need another appliance.

[juliebove]

The only salad I know of including Pears is a Spinach Salad with Candied Pecans and Pear. Hope you love it. I do!

8 c. Spinach
Candied Pecans (look for raw recipe)
2 oz. brie chunks (hmmm...is there a raw equivalent?)
1 c. radicchio, torn
1 lg. pear, cut into 16 pcs

Dressing:
2 Tbsp. oj concentrate (substitute raw equivalent)
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinaigrette
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. garlic, minced

*credit for recipe - Rose Reisman "The Art of Living Well"

rawmaddie
started 100% raw July 10, 2006 at 145 lbs & 5'8".
Loving raw...130 lbs.


That sounds good except for the dressing. Hate dressing on my salad. Not sure about the cheese. I had some nut Swiss but daughter somehow had an accident with it. Knocked it out of the fridge and I didn't discover it until it was all warm and likely spoiled. :(

[Lay-Lay]

I hear ya! I wonder what a pear smoothie would taste like? Hmmm...I may give that a try.

[Rawkinlocs]

Juliebove, you don't need a juicer to juice...just blend in the blender and then strain through a nut milk/paint strainer bag or cheesecloth, etc.

I hate pulling my juicer out, so I now use my blender and strainer bag to make juice whenever I want it (which isn't often).

[juliebove]

Juliebove, you don't need a juicer to juice...just blend in the blender and then strain through a nut milk/paint strainer bag or cheesecloth, etc.

I hate pulling my juicer out, so I now use my blender and strainer bag to make juice whenever I want it (which isn't often).


Ah, well I don't have a strainer bag or cheesecloth either. I did have some cheesecloth once, but I can't remember why or what I did with it. I suppose I could try it, but none of us are really big on juice here. Too sweet!

[Frog]

pear wine?? would that be raw :confused:

[greenfeline]

Pear smoothie combos

banana- pear- a little mint

banana- pear- squeezed orange juice

[exurb]

you can peel and core them and freeze them in bags for later use.

You can then make a nice pear sorbet, or I also like to make a pear-parsnip soup (which I posted a long time ago)

[exurb]

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10069&highlight=pear+parsnip

the link for the pear and parsnip soup

[Toni in OR]

My mom mixes pears with prunes to make a really yummy fruit leather. We also sliced them up and dehydrated them like that for a snack. They are kind of gritty but really sweet. And we always had jars of pear sauce in the pantry.

They have an old pear orchard that is beginning to decline :( It was wonderful in it's prime.