8 Sweet and Savory Pear Recipes That are Pear-fect for Fall (2024)

FAQs

How to intensify pear flavor? ›

In a 3-quart saucepan combine wine, orange juice, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. Add pear halves; cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes or until pears are barely tender. Uncover; cook about 20 minutes more or until pears are translucent.

You'll want to choose pears that hold together well when making poached, baked, or grilled pears. Look to the crispest raw pears to find those that can withstand heat. The popular Bosc pear is the best option. Anjou pears are another top choice and Concorde and French butter pears are also reliable.

Conference pears are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as baking, roasting, and poaching. They can be served fresh out-of-hand in leafy green salads, in fruit salads, sliced on top of pancakes, oatmeal, and pudding, or displayed on a cheese plate.

Look for ripe but firm pears, you want them to be juicy but not too mushy. Anjou, Bartlett or Bosc pears are all excellent choices for juicing, each bringing its own flavour to the mix. Now, it's time to prep those pears.

In “Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook” (Workman Publishing, 1996), the author recommends dishes with cloves, cinnamon or ginger to “bring out a pear's gentle splendor.” Pear and Sweet Potato Soup uses both ginger and cinnamon in the base and cinnamon in buttery croutons.

Pear: Pairs well with almond, apple, caramel, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, citrus, clove, ginger, hazelnut, nutmeg, pecan, raspberry, rosemary, vanilla, and walnut.

Britian's favourite pear, Conference are more widely grown than any other variety. Opinion is divided as to whether they're better firm or fully ripe but whatever your preference, Conference pears have great sweetness, a gentle flavour and can be enjoyed fresh or baked.

Comice. Comice pears were originally cultivated in France. They're known as the sweetest pear variety, and are often the variety shipped in gift boxes. Because of this, they're sometimes given the nickname “the Christmas pear.” Comice pears have light green skin with a blush of pinkish red.

Conference pears also contain a significant amount of carbohydrates (11.40 g per 100 g), slightly above the average for this macronutrient in fresh fruit (11.31 g per 100 g). These are mainly fructose (6.60 g per 100 g), sorbitol (1.80 g per 100 g), sucrose (1.60 g per 100 g) and glucose (1.20 g per 100 g).

Red Bartlett

With a bright, fresh sweetness and delicate floral hints, this pear is all about flavor. Smoother and sweeter than its yellow cousin, the Red Bartlett is similarly good for canning and preserves, and a much better choice for eating out of hand.

Is pear juice good for high blood pressure? ›

Pears are rich in potent antioxidants, such as procyanidins and quercetin, that can boost heart health by improving blood pressure and cholesterol. Eating pears regularly may also reduce stroke risk.

Pear Juice and Prune Juice are widely used for the management and treatment of constipation. The key ingredients in Pear and Prune Juice are the natural fruit sugars sorbitol and fructose⁴. These sugars have an osmotic effect, meaning they draw water into the bowel and help soften the stool⁵.

If a pear is harvested too early before it is mature it will soften but be tasteless.

But here's the sugar and salt trick: A dash of salt and a scattering of sugar can work wonders in boosting the flavor of your fruit. Consider the humble watermelon. On its own, watermelon is refreshing, sweet, and juicy. But a dash of salt on a freshly cut slice introduces a new concoction of flavors.

Acidic ingredients help lift and balance flavor. Use small amounts of ingredients with bold flavors such as pomegranate seeds, chipotle pepper or cilantro. Give a flavor burst with condiments such as horseradish, flavored mustard, chutney, wasabi, bean purees, tapenade and salsas of all kinds.

Pear trees require full sun to produce the most fruit. Prune annually to keep the tree healthy, productive and looking its best. It can take 3 to 10 years for trees to begin flowering and producing fruit. Mature pear trees are large and produce a lot of fruit in a short window of time.