I wanna make a Fr pear tart. You know, in an open-topped tart pan, which
I finally have, and luscious ripe pears. I've been buying some red
Anjou pears that are "to die for" juicy and sweet. But, I think they
may be a bit too juicy for a tart. Yes/no?

What are the best pears to use for baking, for making a tart?

nb

On 28 Jan 2015 14:59:26 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>I wanna make a Fr pear tart. You know, in an open-topped tart pan, which
>I finally have, and luscious ripe pears. I've been buying some red
>Anjou pears that are "to die for" juicy and sweet. But, I think they
>may be a bit too juicy for a tart. Yes/no?
>
>What are the best pears to use for baking, for making a tart?
>
>nb

For me, it is not the variety as much as the texture - in otherwise,
fully ripe may not hold up to the baking. I, myself, find pears more
tender and less likely to bear up as well as apples.

So...you can use pears just at the point before they are ripe enough
to exude juice and are still retaining some firmness that you can feel
when you peel and slice them.

Boron

On 2015-01-28, Boron Elgar > wrote:

> For me, it is not the variety as much as the texture - in otherwise,
> fully ripe may not hold up to the baking. I, myself, find pears more
> tender and less likely to bear up as well as apples.

> So...you can use pears just at the point before they are ripe enough
> to exude juice and are still retaining some firmness that you can feel
> when you peel and slice them.

Thanks for the tips, Boron. I read on the Cook's Thesaurus that
Winter Ellis pears are good for baking, but who can find those. This
other site:

http://allrecipes.com/howto/a-pear-primer/

......has some great tips, also. They say Bosc pears hold together
when poaching/cooking. Perhaps baking, too.

I find it strange that so many pear tart recipes call for canned
pears! Yes, even Martha Stewart, who calls for a paté brisée instead
of a short crust, adding jam and crème ptissière, yet using canned
pears! Blasphemy!!

I also found this, which will be finding its way into my gullet:

http://wine.about.com/od/howwineisma...achedpears.htm

Pear AND wine? Can't decide which to buy, Stilton or some good CA
zin. I know ....both!

nb

On 28 Jan 2015 14:59:26 GMT, notbob > wrote:

> I wanna make a Fr pear tart. You know, in an open-topped tart pan, which
> I finally have, and luscious ripe pears. I've been buying some red
> Anjou pears that are "to die for" juicy and sweet. But, I think they
> may be a bit too juicy for a tart. Yes/no?
>
> What are the best pears to use for baking, for making a tart?
>
I love red pears. They will work if you pick them firm and don't let
them ripen at home. Bosc and Bartlett work too, just don't let any
time pass before you cook them or you'll have some very juicy pears to
deal with. Hope you plan to make the one with almond paste.

--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room

On 28 Jan 2015 16:01:05 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>
> I find it strange that so many pear tart recipes call for canned
> pears! Yes, even Martha Stewart, who calls for a paté brisée instead
> of a short crust, adding jam and crème ptissière, yet using canned
> pears! Blasphemy!!

If Martha says it's okay, then it will work. The reason why recipes
say using canned is okay is because most people can't tell the
difference after they've been cooked and wouldn't even attempt the
recipe if they had to start off with poaching pears. If you're
willing to put the extra time and effort into it, pick a recipe you
like and poach your own pears even if it calls for canned.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/11...d-tart-recipe/
>


--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room

On 2015-01-28 9:59 AM, notbob wrote:
> I wanna make a Fr pear tart. You know, in an open-topped tart pan, which
> I finally have, and luscious ripe pears. I've been buying some red
> Anjou pears that are "to die for" juicy and sweet. But, I think they
> may be a bit too juicy for a tart. Yes/no?
>
> What are the best pears to use for baking, for making a tart?
>

Bartlett pears are probably the best. As you can see from canned pears,
they retain some firmness when cooked.

On 01/28/2015 06:59 AM, notbob wrote:
> I wanna make a Fr pear tart. You know, in an open-topped tart pan, which
> I finally have, and luscious ripe pears. I've been buying some red
> Anjou pears that are "to die for" juicy and sweet. But, I think they
> may be a bit too juicy for a tart. Yes/no?
>
> What are the best pears to use for baking, for making a tart?
>
> nb
>
Regarding the juice: do as you would with a pie. Add some corn starch or
arrowroot. Make a base layer of frangipane.

Regarding pear variety: just about any variety will work, but some have
better flavor than others. Perfectly ripened Comice is my favorite for
eating out of hand, but d'Anjou or Bartlett would be better for baking.
Most pears start to turn brown on the inside within a day of the neck
starting to become soft.

Regarding a tart pan: I've been making some galettes, which is a
primitive form of a tart. This requires no special pan but still looks
very elegant and tastes great. An apple+pear galette on a frangipane
base is wonderful. Toss in some sliced almonds, too.

On 2015-01-28, Whirled Peas > wrote:

> eating out of hand, but d'Anjou or Bartlett would be better for baking.

Great! Red Anjous are poppin', right now.

> very elegant and tastes great. An apple+pear galette on a frangipane
> base is wonderful. Toss in some sliced almonds, too.

I can't believe I've never heard of frangipane. Specially since I've
made crème ptessière for blackberry tarts and I LOVE most almond
everything. Got a recipe for frangipane using almond paste, which I
have, instead of almond meal, which is what most recipes call for?

nb

On 01/29/2015 12:37 PM, notbob wrote:
> Got a recipe for frangipane using almond paste, which I
> have, instead of almond meal, which is what most recipes call for?
>
> nb
>
Unfortunately, no. I haven't actually done this, but you might try
comparing the list of ingredients between your chosen frangipane recipe
and the list of ingredients in the almond paste. Once you eliminate
those ingredients that are already in the paste, you'll be left with
what you need to add. Just guessing now, but you'll probably won't need
extra sugar, probably will need an egg. Butter? possibly, extract?
probably not. Flour? maybe some to thicken it up a bit. Do you have 1/2
cup of almond *paste* already? If not, it might be simpler to just
search out the almond *meal* and go with a published recipe.

There are a couple other options for dealing the the juice. You can
cover the bottom of the crust with softened, sweetened, extract-flavored
cream cheese. This will keep the bottom crust from getting soggy.

Another option was suggested by "Janet US," sometime ago on this
newsgroup. Beat together 1 egg and 1/4 cup of sugar. Flavor with extract
if desired. Pour over the top of the tart just before you put it into
the oven. The egg, sugar and fruit juice combine to form sort of a
custard. Double the quantities if it doesn't look like enough. You only
have to fill in the "valleys", not submerge the whole thing. Best eaten
warm.

On 29 Jan 2015 20:37:53 GMT, notbob > wrote:

> On 2015-01-28, Whirled Peas > wrote:
>
> > eating out of hand, but d'Anjou or Bartlett would be better for baking.
>
> Great! Red Anjous are poppin', right now.
>
> > very elegant and tastes great. An apple+pear galette on a frangipane
> > base is wonderful. Toss in some sliced almonds, too.
>
> I can't believe I've never heard of frangipane. Specially since I've
> made crème ptessière for blackberry tarts and I LOVE most almond
> everything. Got a recipe for frangipane using almond paste, which I
> have, instead of almond meal, which is what most recipes call for?
>
Keep looking. There are lots of recipes that use almond paste.


--
A kitchen without a cook is just a room