Janet wrote:
> I love pears, and am happy to have this recipe. Thanks!
>
> Two possibly dumb questions, given the difficulty of finding ripe pears, or
> pears that will actually ripen instead of going directly from rocks to mush:
>
> a) Have you found that the ripeness of the pears makes much difference?
> b) Do you favor any particular type of pear for this?
Hi Janet,
I haven't really paid attention to the pears - only to try to find
the ripest ones I can at the supermarket. I think comice would be
nice but they never have them so it's usually bosc or bartletts that
are available and I tend to go for bartletts as bosc tend to be really
hard. I can't say if I've noticed any difference. But then for all
I know I've used the same kind of pears every time.
> My third question is definitely too dumb to ask, so I'll just say that I'm
> assuming you use peeled and cored fresh pears... 
Duh. Yes. Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'm sure the original
recipe specified that but when I read it to my aunt over the phone
(she had it written on a used envelope so I'm pretty sure that's
what happened) she only wrote down the bare bones instructions, assuming
she would remember to peel and core them. ;-)
Speaking of that sort of thing - explicit instructions to peel,
core, seed, or whatever fruit or vegetables - I have always thought
that it should be unnecessary to state that as that would be the
default procedure. If something is supposed to be used with the
peel still or, or whatever, then that should be stated. I don't
know - it's probably just me. I guess there are people who wouldn't
know to peel and core the apples for apple pie, but really . . . ? ;-)
Anyway, I just mention that because lately I have noticed more and
more of what I consider *unnecessary* instructions in the recipes
I copy. Things like stating all-purpose flour when that's the default
and only other types of flour need to be specified. Same with
granulated sugar. And listing extra flour to flour the pasty
cloth or extra butter/oil to grease the pan in with the list of
ingredients. In the old days those things were not listed as an
ingredient. Oh,well. I guess I'm just too picky.
Anyway, I hope you like this. I love the mostly pear flavor.
the small amount of cloves does not really make it spicy like
apple butter, which I don't care for because of that. In fact
I love cinnamon - in many things - but I'd just as soon leave it
out of applesauce. Anyway, the pear honey ls lovely on regular
toast or biscuits or whatever but I always make it at Xmas to eat
on my Swiss bread figures which are a slightly sweet bread with
cardamom and lots of eggs and butter in the dough. I like to give
the bread figures as gifts along with a small jar of the pear honey.
Kate
> "Kate Connally" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Some of you may recall my post back in December bemoaning
>> the loss of one of my favorite recipes - Pear Honey.
>> I looked everywhere, and I googled it and found about a
>> million recipes by that title but none of them were the one
>> I had. I posted here and got a number of replies. I ended
>> up using the one Barb Schaller sent which was not the one
>> I was looking for but sounded like it would be good - and it
>> was. I also checked with my aunt and my sister to see if I
>> had given them the recipe. My aunt was pretty sure I had
>> given it to her, but she could not find it either. I even
>> wrote to Bon Appetit to see if they had it in their archives.
>> I was fairly sure it had come from their magazine. They were
>> kind enough to look for me, but they didn't have it. So I
>> guess I was wrong about where I originally got it.
>>
>> Well, last week my aunt called and said, "Guess what I found?"
>> She had come across the recipe when looking for something else.
>> So, here is what all the fuss was about.
>>
>> PEAR HONEY
>>
>> 2 1/2 lb. pear chunks (5 c.)
>> 1 c. sugar
>> 1/4 c. lemon juice
>> 1/4 c. honey
>> 1 t. grated lemon rind
>> 1/4 t. cloves
>>
>> Combine all ingredients in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer
>> for 20 minutes or until tender. Cool 30 minutes. Puree in food
>> processor. Makes ~ 2 c.
>>
>> I knew it had more than just pears and sugar, which is what
>> the one Barb provided contained. I remember thinking it had
>> some honey and some lemon and some spice, probably cloves, but
>> I wasn't exactly sure. I guess this proves my memory isn't all
>> that bad after all. ;-)
>>
>> Now, if I can only hold on to it until next year I'll make it
>> to go with my Grittibanz (Swiss bread figures). I'm just so
>> excited!
>>
>> Kate
>>
>> --
>> Kate Connally
>> “If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
>> Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
>> Until you bite their heads off.”
>> What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?
>>
>
>
>
--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?