Pear Season

Although pears are available all year round, they are a fruit that ripens and is collected in the autumn months, and they conjure up all the colors of the season. Now is the time to use them liberally in mouthwatering desserts, serve them sliced with tangy cheese following a meal, or munch on them as a healthy snack.

There are many varieties of pear available (see some varieties below), but whichever type you choose always select smooth fruit that is free from cuts or bruises. Pears ripen off the tree and are ready to eat when the flesh near the stem has some give. If you store them in a fruit bowl at room temperature, they make an elegant, fall decoration, but they can also be stored in the crisper of the refrigerator until ripe. Pears can be poached, baked or roasted in both sweet and savory dishes, and simply sliced in salads.

A few of the most common pears:

Bartlett
The Bartlett is the most commonly grown pear in the US. This pear comes in green flesh and red flesh variety. The fully ripe Bartlett may be yellow, but the Red Bartlett pear develops its red skin prior to being fully ripe. As with the Anjou pear, it can be either red or yellow, or a mixture of both. It is very versatile, and is good in salads, or baked in desserts.

Williams
This green-skinned versatile pear is great for poaching, baking or in salads. Ideal for crumbles, cakes and tarts.

Sensation
Often known as Red Sensation, as when they ripen they become a deep crimson color. This medium sized pear has a buttery texture that is ideal for desserts and fruit salads.

Red Anjou
This red, medium-sized pear has a white, fine-textured flesh. This is a great pear to use in salads, and goes especially well with walnuts.

Corella
These small green and red pears have a mild flavor and are good to eat alone, and hold their shape well when roasted.

Bosc
This is a medium to large brown pear, and is sweet and juicy. It is one of the best all-round pears for cooking and holds up well when poached, pan-fried or baked. It has a cream colored flesh, and slightly grainy texture.

Comice
This large roundish pear has a green-yellow skin, with red blush. It has a fine textured, juicy flesh making it perfect in desserts and great on its own.

Pears can be poached, baked or roasted, or added to salads or tarts. Below is a super simple recipe for Baked Pear Custards that turns an everyday meal into something special. This recipe was featured in the Donna Hay magazine.


Baked Pear Custards (serves 4)
Ingredients

• 2 cups pouring cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/3 cup caster (extra fine) sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pear, thinly sliced
• freshly grated nutmeg for sprinkling

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. Place the cream in a saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to the boil.
3. Place the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
4. Gradually add the hot cream mixture, whisking well to combine.
5. Pour into 4 x 1 1/2 cup-capacity ovenproof dishes and top with pear slices.
6. Place on a baking tray and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until just set.
7. Sprinkle with nutmeg to serve.
   

Apple Pie

Now that fall is here, everyone's thoughts are turning to the coming holidays, cozy days spent lazing in front of a fireplace, spending time with family and friends and trying to keep out of the cold!

Growing up in England, as I did, meant that you generally ate whatever was in season, and right about now were the "late" fruits such as as damsons, plums, gooseberries and, of course, apples.

Cooking apples were bought at the market as they were cheap and nearly always available and with them you could make apple pie, apple crumble, apple upside-down pudding or just plain old baked apples! So it's not surprising that as soon as fall arrives, my thoughts turn to baking apple pie. The recipe below for Old English apple pie, with its filling of apple, dried fruit and spices makes the pastry "from scratch" which is more usual in England, but you can substitute your favorite pie crust mix if you prefer.

Ingredients for the Pastry

• 8 oz (2 cups) all purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) butter
• 2-3 tablespoons cold water
  

Ingredients for the Filling

• 1 1/2 lbs cooking apples, peeled cored and sliced (firm apples such as Pippin, Rome Beauty and Granny Smith)
• 4 tablespoons dried sultanas or raisins
• 6 oz (2/3 cup) light brown sugar
• Finely grated rind and juice of half a lemon
  

To Finish

• milk
• caster sugar
  

Method

1. To prepare the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, then stir in the sugar. Add the butter in pieces and rub into the flour with the fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (you can use a food processor for this, if you prefer). Stir in enough cold water to hold the mixture together, then form into a smooth ball. Wrap in foil or greaseproof paper and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Divide the dough in two and roll out one half on a floured board to a circle to fit the base of an 8-inch pie dish.
3. Put the apples in a mixing bowl, then stir in the remaining filling ingredients. Spoon into the dough-lined pie dish. Roll out the remaining dough to a circle for the lid. Lay over the filling, pressing down and sealing the edge with water. Flute the edge with your fingers or crimp with the prongs of a fork. Brush with a little milk and dredge with caster sugar. Make a slit in the center of the pie for the steam to escape.
4. Bake on a baking sheet in the center of a fairly hot oven (400 degF) for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to moderate (350 degF) and continue baking for 20 minutes.
5. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
   

In England apple pie is usually served with custard sauce, or sweetened whipped cream. I have never seen the custard sauce in America, but it is usually made with a vanilla flavored powder (Bird's Custard Powder) to which hot milk and sugar are added and it makes a thick, yellow sauce which is delicious!

If you want to be really authentic and try this it can be purchased online at www.ukgoods.com.

A tangy cheddar cheese is also good with apple pie, and the two are often served together in England.