ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Best Recipes In America: Pear Pie and Salad

Updated on December 23, 2013
Pears are a popular fall fruit, but we can find them in supermarkets all year long.
Pears are a popular fall fruit, but we can find them in supermarkets all year long. | Source

Fruits of Childhood

While I was growing up, we often had apples in the house. When they were in season, we had some oranges and we often had bananas. Having survived the Great Depression, my parents often served cut up oranges and bananas sprinkled with sugar. Reading about this dish in a Ray Bradbury novel recently brought back those memories.

Today, I would really not sprinkle sugar on fresh fruit; but I thing the oranges and bananas were comfort food. Many Christmases during the Depression, children received an orange in their Christmas Stockings. I think that's the connection.

African Cucumber (not a pear)

(photos this page public domain)
(photos this page public domain)
The Pear.
The Pear.

Nowadays, with global connections, we see fruits of all sorts in the markets and grocery stores during all 12 months of the year. I remember when Star Trek Voyager® first aired on television - the ship's galley included a bowl of "alien" fruits on the counter. These fruits were simply those that some Americans had not yet seen in their grocery shopping experiences - star fruit and African cucumber (a spiny yellow melon). Now, we see them all.

One thing I recall about childhood is the flavor of pears, which we had once in a while, They were large green pears and quite mild in flavor - better than apples, I thought. But they spoiled quickly - squishier than canned pears.

It turns out that the pear is a cousin to the apple, so the similarity in flavor makes sense - it's one of degree, I think. This makes me wonder that since alligator fritters take like mild sausage to nme, does this mean that the alligator is related to the pig?

Of course, there is also the alligator pear (actually, the avocado, another favorite).

At any rate, the pears in the groceries of my youth were marked only as "Pears", but they were Anjous.

The pear may be substituted for the apple in a pie.
The pear may be substituted for the apple in a pie. | Source

My First Pear Pie

The summer I turned 18, I had just graduated from high school with few cooking skills; but I thought, “If apple pies are good, why not pear pies?”

People I asked about this told me that they had never heard of a pear pie, so threfore, a pear pie could not be good. I begged to differ. Besides, what they asserted was illogical. The fact that we have not heard of something or someone is not proof that that entity does not exists. I ask you - isn't that a law of physics? It is in my world.

I substituted pears into an apple pie recipe of old and found the results very likable - a wonderful slightly spicy aroma and a good-looking pie, soft light golden brown. It makes me hungry just to think about it. Most folks would not try it. They still said they’d never heard of a pear pie and just looked at me funny. That was OK – more for me. Now pear pie seems a delicacy, but not unknown in the world where people get acquainted with things and people they do not know.


INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
  • 3/4 Cup sugar
  • 4 Cups of fresh Pears after they are sliced
  • 2-3 Tbsp butter or margarine
  • 1/2 tsp each cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, (cloves, but that is optional) and a pinch of salt These days, sometimes I use just the allspice and nutmeg - 1 tsp each.
  • Recipe for 2 unbaked pie crusts, one of them in the pie pan.
  • Small amount of milk and a pastry brush.

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 375 Degrees F.
  • Mix together flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, & salt. Add sugar and mix.
  • Add pears to the dry ingredients & mix until coated.
  • Scoop the pear mixture into one crust.
  • Melt margarine or butter and drizzle over the top.
  • Cover with second crust, crimp edges, and brush the top with some milk.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake until crust is golden brown and pears are done. If the pie browns too quickly, cover the top with an aluminum foil tent.

White cheeses are good with pears in a salad.
White cheeses are good with pears in a salad.

Cheese-Pear-Walnut Salad

Serves 4

I like the crunch of this pear salad very much - crunchy pears, crunchy celery, and crunch Iceberg lettuce. for less crunch I use mixed salad greens, which also provides more color with purple and reddish leaves. The white Cheddar cheese makes a nice sharper taste and texture contrast, as do the walnuts. English walnuts, when used, provide a different flavor yet. You might also want to shave some carrots over the salad.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 Anjou or Barlett Pears, ripe but firm - washed and sliced (retain peel)
  • 2 ribs of celery, sliced up
  • 1 head of Iceberg lettuce, or 1 bag of mixed salad lettuces
  • 3/4 Cup walnut halves, toasted
  • 1.2 Cup white Cheddar cheese cubes
  • Dressing:

DRESSING

  • 1 Cup olive oil
  • 6 Tbsp vinegar
  • 1/2 Cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp celery seed
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Shake dressing ingredients together in a tightly-lidded jar until sugar is dissolved and sit in refrigerator to meld flavors. You can also make the dressing a day ahead of time.
  • Toast walnuts - Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 375 degrees F for 3-4 minutes. You can also do this in a hot frying pan on the stove top, but walnuts burn easily and baking is less hazardous is this regard.
  • Tear lettuce into small pieces and arrange in salad bowls.
  • Arrange pear slices over the salad greens in each bowl.
  • Sprinkle walnuts over the pears.
  • Sprinkle cheese cubes on top of walnuts.
  • Remove dressing from refrigerator, shake well, and pour over salads. Keep remaining dressing in the refrigerator; you can also make the dressing the night before.

 

Click thumbnail to view full-size
Pear blossoms in spring.
Source
Pear blossoms in spring.
Pear blossoms in spring. | Source
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)