Cooking pears

[Primrose]

Have just acquired some nice cooking pears. Does anybody have any favourite recipes for using them?

[Westi]

I just harvested some which were lovely inside but black dots on the skin so knew they wouldn't keep. I googled pear recipes over the weekend. Didn't find anything too inspiring so would be interested in the replies.

Lots of poached pears in all sorts of liquids. I made a pear crumble with lots of ginger powder in the crumb (OK) & made a chocolate & pear self saucing pudding. The recipe said to cook the pears first but mine were nearly ripe so just put them chopped up - was pretty good actually - the pear pieces softened a bit but kept their texture!

Wasn't many savoury recipes at all!

Westi

[Primrose]

I ended up poaching them in a sugar syrup with some cardamon pods and a couple of cinnamon sticks and they were very nice so will be foraging around the same tree on public ground again for more.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I like them poached in red wine with a bit of sugar or spices if you like and eat them with a dollop of cream or creme fraiche. They also freeze well when poached but don't cook them for too long so they stay firm. Very handy for a quick dessert until the next crop.
You can also make a tart with a thin layer of marzipan under the sliced pears and a glaze on top. Also good with chopped crystalized ginger.