A GOOD PEAR SEASON

New Zealand Listener, Volume 26, Issue 664, 28 March 1952, Page 22

A GOOD PEAR SEASON

season, both eating and cooking. All fruits are important for their vitamins, sugars, and minerals, which help maintain the alkaline reserve of the blood as well as satisfying appetite and thus indirectly helping to keep down unwanted weight. Fruit is useful to eat raw as well as cooked, not only at breakfast but also as dessert at dinner. Pears are ideal for this purpose and are often cut into pieces and spread (using a silver knife) with cream cheese. A fruit cocktail can be made by arranging fresh juicy pears, peeled and diced, in cocktail glasses, covered with canned pineapple juice. For a salad just arrange peeled juicy pear halves in salad plates and fill the hollows with cut up orange, also arranging orange pieces around the outside. are in good supply this Pear Halves Baked Arrange ripe pears, peeled and halved lengthwise, in a casserole. Simmer 4-5 minutes % cup sugar, 2 tablespoons -lemon-juice, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1 cup boiling water. Pour this over the pears (4 or 5) and bake, covered, in moderate oven about 40 minutes or till tender. Then chill, and when serving, dot a little jelly in each half pear. Or sprinkle with nutmeg and sherry in | which case the lemon juice is left out. Pears Parisienne Use castor or ordinary sugar. Half a medium orange, % medium lemon, 3 firm ripe pears, 2 cup sugar, 1 pint vanilla ice cream, about 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate. Squeeze juice from orange and lemon. Put rinds through fine blade of food chopper. Peel pears, cut in half lengthwise, core. Place jn saucepan with ground rinds, juice and sugar. Cover, simmer over low heat until -tendei (about 15 minutes). Cool. Place each pear half on descert plate, top with spoonful of ice cream and sauce. Shave a little chocolate over each serving. Jellied Ginger Pear One packet lemon jelly crystals, 142 cups hot water, 1 cup dry ginger ale, 1 cup diced, peeled pears, Y% cup -coarsely-chopped pecan or other nuts, 1 tablespoon finely-slivered crystallised ginger. Dissolve jelly in hot water. Chill until slightly thickened. Combine with remaining ingredients, chill until set. Before serving, break up slightly with a fork, heap in sherbet glasses. Serve with cream or custard sauce. Pickled Pears | Peel and quarter 2 lb. pears. Make syrup of 1 pint vinegar, about 12 cloves, 12 oz. sugar, and a stick of cinnamon. Boil 10 minutes. Add pears and simmer gently till tender. Take out carefully, drain, put jin jars. Quickly boil syrup again till thick, and when cold pour over fruit. Screw down. Store in cool place. Pears must be quite covered by syrup. Pear Sundae Peel, core and halve sufficient pears. Make a syrup by boiling sugar (or honey) and water for 10 minutes. Drop in the pear halves, and simmer till tender. Strain off boiling syrup and use it to make up a packet of lemon jelly

crystals. When it is beginning to set, whip with eggbeater until frothy. Place cooked pears

in individual dishes or glasses, pour on the jelly and leave to set. Serve with cream or custard. Pear Pie Make like apple pie, except that the pears should be cut more chunky and not in thin slices. Use a deep piedish and flavour with cinmamon or cloves, either essence or powdered. Pear Chutney Two pounds each of pears and plums, 1 lb: each of apples, dates and onions or shallots, 1 lb. chopped raisins, 142 1b. brown sugar or treacle, % Ib. salt, ¥% teaspoon cayenne, 1 packet spice, 2 oz. ground ginger, Chop fruit and onions finely. Add seasoning and 3 pints vinegar. Boil all slowly 2 hours. Thin with a little more vinegar if necessary. Pear Ginger To every pound of pears when peeled and cored allow 1 ib. sugar, and to every 6 Ib. pears allow 1 ib. chopped preserved ginger, and the juice and grated rind of 3 lemons. Cut the pears rather fine and let all ingredients stand overnight mixed in a bowl or preserving pan. Next day bring slowly to the boil, stirring carefully. Boil slowly until pears are clear and the mixture nice and thick (approximately 2 hours). If preserved ginger is too expensive, use less and make up with ginger essence to taste. Or, 6-Ib. pears, 4 lb. sugar, 2 cups water, 1 cup vinegar, 1 Ib. preserved ginger. Boil sugar, water and vinegar 20 minutes, Then add pears and ginger (cut small), and boil till it jells. Do not boil too hard-better to simmer, once pears and ginger are added. Pear and Pineapple Jam _ Six pounds pears, 1 large pineapple, 6 Ib. sugar, and 1 pint water. Peel, and slice pears and pineapple. Put fruit into pan with sugar and wi and simmer till a good colour and c sistency (about 2 hours). See that sugar is well dissolved before it is boiled. .