Pear-shaped Seasonal Produce Feature

“It is, in my view, the duty of an apple to be crisp and crunchable, but a pear should have such a texture as leads to silent consumption.”

(Edward Bunyard 1878 – 1939, epicure, pomologist and author of The Anatomy of Dessert: With a few words on wine)

Forsaken in the bottom of school bags, cursed by women with resemblant body shapes and dribbled down chins across the world, pears are the first produce to be chosen for Thursday fortnightly ‘Seasonal Produce’ update (in season from February to September).

A little history?
Pears are an ancient fruit, believed to have been known to prehistoric man. Originating in the Caucasus, the common pear, Pyrus communis, is a European native whilst the Chinese pear (the nashi variety is well known in Australia), Trunus pyrifolia, is of the Orient. Pears and their cousins, apples, both belong to the rose family. It is unknown which fruit came first, but in ancient times pears were considered the superior fruit.

Throughout the Old, Middle, Early Modern and Modern English periods, the pear has been known in various forms: peru, pere, peire, peore, peyre, peere, per, peare, pear, peer, pare, payre, peyr ….

Pears have been in Australia since the arrival of the first fleet. Stephanie Alexander (in the Cook’s Companion) states that “during the 1850s pear trees were planted by diggers along the creeks, and wild pear trees can still be found today in old mining districts”.

And for the botanists among us?
Pear trees grow up to 9m height with a truck up to 30cm wide, and are cultivated in cool, humid climates. Their leaves are oval and simple, and have white flowers, are borne in unbels, have 5 sepals, 5 petals, many stamens and a single pistil.

Which one to choose? 
Pears come in many varieties (apparently around 5000 these days), and differ in shape, colour, taste, texture and size. Corella (can be eaten hard or soft), Packham, Williams, Beurre bosc (better for longer cooking), Red Williams, Josephine.. to name a few common varieties available in Australia.

What to do?
Pears can be eaten raw, added to salads, eaten with cheese, stewed, pureed, dried, candied, canned, preserved. They go well with nuts, cheeses (especially goats and bleu), duck, pork, lemons, berries, cinnmon, cloves, ginger, cardamom, star anise…

And for a recipe?

Poached Pears 

These are delicious hot with icecream or custard, can be placed atop puff or filo pastry and baked for a pear tart or placed in a baking dish, topped with crumble mixture and baked for pear crumble… but are equally as good cold, as an indulgent addition to muesli and other breakfast cereals.

2 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup or verjuice (or white wine )
1 stick or 1 tsp cinnamon
2 star anise
4 cloves
4 pears, peeled, halved (or quartered if you prefer) and cored (leave the stems on for aesthetics)

Combine water, sugar and spices in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes to allow the spices to infuse poaching mixture. Add the pears, cover and simmer for about 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the variety and ripeness of the pairs – the flesh should be soft, but still firm (ie. not mushy).