We also had a banner year with our pear tree. If you have a dehydrator you can dry them - just wash and slice and dehydrate. DD6 loves to take these for snack at school.
Might seem a bit silly to some, but....have you considered donating some to your local food bank? If you really have that many to spare, it might be an option.
Our local news station just did a story about how the food banks don't get a lot of fresh fruit and veggies and how some places are starting community gardens and donating some of the produce to their local food banks. Which is what made me think of it.
Unfortunately the ones I know of won't take them, we don't use pesticides so our pears can (and some do) have bugs in them so they won't take them. The produce they accept must be in good condition.....ya makes no sense to me but there you have it. Good idea tho and I'll look for others.
on the same line as this one, take them to a local church You don't have to be a member to make a donation! most church's have outreach programs with various pantry type institues or if nothing else, ususally know of at least 1 family "in need". Our church supports a local battered womens & children shelter. only the pastor's wife "knows" where it is, but anytime we have food from an event or anything we would like to pass on to the battered womens shelter, we let our pastor's wife know and she takes it to them.
Pear pie. My Grandma used to make a Pear Pie with the pears from our trees that I thought was wonderful. It is similar to apple pie and very easy to make. Here is the recipe:
Bartlett PEAR PIE
For crumbly top mix together: 1 cup sugar
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon cinnamnon
Work in 1/4 cup butter until crumbly.
Spread 1/2 this mixture into bottom of pie shell. (If making own pie crust, - first line pie plate with crust).
Fill with 4 cups sliced fresh pears.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Spread rest of crumbly mixture evenly over fruit.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes then at 350 degrees for 40 or 50 minutes longer until brown and bubbling. Let cool.
That's basically what I make, only I don't do a bottom crust, only the crumbly over the top. I've got 4 bags still in my freezer and 2 thawed and ready to use this weekend.
No job for me, lost that in June (I used to take them to the office so I didn't have an overabundance) and DBF didn't seem thrilled when I asked him if he wanted to take some in. I was thinking about making a crisp (or 2) and sending it to work with him to share with his co-workers.
My mom has a huge pear tree and made pear pie filling this year and canned it. Not exactly sure of the recipe, but it has sliced, peeled pears, cinnamon, corn starch for thickening, sugar. That may be it. Then she cooks it all together, pours it into jars and processes it.
Then you just open the jar, pour into pie shell and top with pie crust and bake. YUM!
If you put this in quart jars and tied with a ribbon, it would be a great Chirstmas gift.
That's what I do, but I don't can it, I just mix it all up and put it in gallon size freezer bags. I love the idea of the quart jars tied with a ribbon and giving that as a gift....I know a few people I could absolutely do that with! Thank You!
We also had a banner year with our pear tree. If you have a dehydrator you can dry them - just wash and slice and dehydrate. DD6 loves to take these for snack at school.
Unfortunately the ones I know of won't take them, we don't use pesticides so our pears can (and some do) have bugs in them so they won't take them. The produce they accept must be in good condition.....ya makes no sense to me but there you have it. Good idea tho and I'll look for others.
Obviously me too but the ones I spoke with said they won't even take a head of lettuce if it's turning brown. The people I talked to said that the people who come in actually complain if the fruits/veggies aren't high quality so they just started to refuse that stuff. Most places around here only take shelf stable foods now. It's pretty bad when someone complains about their free produce having brown spots......lol
I have an aunt that makes Pear Relish...slightly sweet, slightly spicy. Great served with cream cheese on crackers or on peas (field not english or sweet)
I am sorry I do not have either recipe but you could google them and see what you come up with. If you have trouble finding but would really like the recipe, PM me and I will get it from my mom.
Hi, I also have a pear tree with a GREAT crop this year. So I am going to try making some PEAR CHUTNEY and jarring it. There are plenty of recipes, just google it. It is supposed to be REALLY good just dumped on a block of cream cheese and served with crackers. I am thinking HOLIDAYS also!! Joan