what to do with soft pears

[lauracohenromano]

Hello,

I have 4 pears about to go bad, definitely too soft to enjoy eating as are. Ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[rworange]

I know this is an old topic, however I made a grilled cheese and pear sandwich with some some slightly overripe pears. It was great. Nothing fancy ... white bread, slice of American cheese, slices of pear, top with another slice of cheese and bread.

In this case, I microwaved it. But I'm sure it would be even more delicious if the bread had been buttered and the sandwich grilled in a frying pan.

I'll bet this would have been even better if I used a nut bread.

[HillJ]

rworange, have you ever tried using waffles in place of the bread? Pears, semi soft cheese and grill. Delicious.

[DGresh]

Last night I took some pears that were too soft, sliced them up, removing the brown parts, and broiled them in a little olive oil till slightly browned around the edges. After they'd cooled a bit I added them to a salad with radicchio, raisins and walnuts-- it was very good. Got them idea from a restaurant I went to on Friday--

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[lauracohenromano]

Wow. I think this is only my second time posting to this board, and you're so helpful, so quickly. Thanks! I'm going with the simple pear sauce this time, but saving that pear tart recipe for when next having company.

[Smokey]

The pear tart recipe really is a perfect way to use up pears in the condition you describe. Definitely try it! It's flexible, dependable and delicious. Everything you would want in a recipe.

[rose water]

I agree with Smokey entirely. It's also very straightforward to make.

This tart is also great with sour cherries in place of pears: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

[Smokey]

Mmmmmm, I also made a version last year with sour cherries that I had frozen from the summer. I actually think that was my favorite version I've made so far!

[scenicrec]

Do you have an ice cream machine? Sorbet!

[KitchenAid]

Sub them for bananas in a bananas foster recipe. You won't be sorry

[Pumpkinseed]

What a wonderful, dependable recipe this is, open to many, many variants.

I have made this tart with pears and with apples, sliced and arranged in pinwheels as described above, and also with halved plums (both the little Italian prune plums and larger varieties - it's a little better with the smaller plums on top, and once with cherries that were languishing in my refrigerator. As you can imagine, halving and pitting the cherries was the most time-consuming part of making the tart, but it looked good and tasted great.

I've made it in an 8" pan and a 9" pan.

Somethimes I follow the mixing instructions as described above, and sometimes I dump all the ingredients in the food processor and let 'er rip.

I've added nutmeg and/or lemon peel to the batter, and also lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon to the fruit on top of the cake.

No matter what: it's a great cake.

[Louise]

If you make the soup, some blue cheese or toasted walnuts sprinkled on top would be a good thing.

If you are feeling ambitious, you could make a blue cheese butter--mash blue cheese with softened butter, then roll up in a cylinder in saran wrap and chill. When you serve the soup, slice off a pat and plump it on top.

[zameloy]

puree with simple syrup, strain through a fine mesh sieve and mix with brandy and soda for a good cocktail.

[Veggietales]

yummy! How about pear bellinis? Take same puree, put at the bottom of champagne flutes and top with champagne. Add a dot of grenadine before the puree to get the blush- hue effect.

[Sherri]

Cut them in half, remove core, add dollop of raspberry jam & butter. Top w/ sliced almonds if you have them on hand. Bake until soft.

Pears in dessert wine - rough chop pears and cook in 1/2 C (???) dessert wine until syrupy.

Savory pear "jam" as a side for roasted pork - add cored pears, finely minced fresh rosemary & lemon zest, SPTT to food processor. Pulse until chunky & blended.

[Cheese Boy]

Four pears: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recip... or any variation of this soup.

[SLO]

We are all forever thankful to Galleygirl for her PEAR TART recipe:
on Oct 14, 2004 galleygirl replied

This is my father's all-time favorite dessert...I got it from a chef-friend of mine, named Laurie....She calls it a Pear Tart, but it's more like a dense, rich, buttery cake, made heavy by the pear juice that infuses it...Don't overcook; it's even better the next day!

Laurie's Pear Tart

3 or 4 ripe juicey pears....
Peel,core and cut into sixths, or eighths

Cream
1 stick butter
3/4 c. sugar
1teasoon vanilla..

Add
2 eggs, one at a time...

Combine
1 c. flour
1 teasoon baking powder
1/2 t. salt...

Add to butter mixture.

Spray an 8" (important) spring form pan with Pam...Spread the batter in it..Now, in a pinwheel pattern, press the slices of pear, peeled side up, into the batter...Cram in as many as you can; since the batter rises and covers the pears, there's no points given for style here(g)...The more pears, the moister the cake will be.

Bake at 350 degrees til a skewer comes out clean, about an hour...If you have any doubts, UNDERBAKE....This is a whole different animal if it dries out...Then it's just a cake; correctly done, you'll love it...It's just one of those recipes that is greater than the sum of it's parts. really. Ask my Dad...;)

[AppleSister]

Not that this tart needs any more testimonials, but ohmigod, I made it for the first time a few weeks ago, after years of thinking about it, and it was absolutely incredible. Everyone asked for the recipe.

[jsaimd]

I am jumping on the bandwagon for this cake....yum. But I changed it up. My husband said he needed the pears for his breakfast, so I used apples and blueberries (one for crunch one for juice. I also baked in ramikins, put a layer of half done dulce de leche, then the reduced-sugar batter (modified to be wheat free because of an allergy), and then the fruit. Other than the batter being blue, it was fantastic. I also used almond extract. Highly recommend.

[vicarious]

A few comments about the pear tart recipe, which I've made many times and love. I purchased an 8" spring form for the recipe, but I actually prefer it made in a larger (9" or 10") pan. You can fit in more fruit, and (imo) it looks better. I also think it's better if you sprinkle the fruit with a little bit of granulated sugar mixed with ginger or cinnamon.

[HillJ]

Pear sauce (as in applesauce) is a great way to use up ripe ones. Peel, a small amt. of water to cover and bring to a soft bowl. Allow pears to cool a bit and puree in blender.
Nice with pork, stirred in yogurt or alone.

[DGresh]

I always add my soft pears to the pot when I'm making applesauce.