Comments on: food fest 10: can i eat these mystery pears?

By: Margaret

Margaret — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:55:45 +0000

Welcome, Susan, and thank you for the story of your pears. My tree is very, very old and large, and you are probably right: though it gets some pruning, it hasn’t been fed in decades or longer, I suspect. Hope to see you again soon.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:22:40 +0000

I had two Kieffers (as i have recently discovered), and the first couple of years, the pears were small and rock hard, as you describe. One year i decided to have them pruned and fertilized (organically w/ application to roots), and the next season they were absolutely amazing. I had bushels of the biggest, most succulent pears ever. They were hard, but crispy and sweet like apples, and that’s the way i ate them. Even canned them. They were the size of mangoes…probably 2 lb apiece. Last year i had so many i couldn’t get rid of them all. I pruned late winter this year, and the crop was smaller, but the size of the pears was astounding. i just finished canning all of them. A hint i picked up this year is that when the first pears start to drop, then pick them all, wrap them individually in paper (i used plain newsprint left over from a move), and store them in a cool place…i used an old fridge at about 40 degrees. Then a week before i wanted to can them, i brought them out and kept them at room temp. They were ripe but still firm. Actually, i think i liked the ones i canned last year when they were still crisp…they held their shape better, and i liked the texture better. Hope this helps.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:57:43 +0000

Welcome, Linda. After 23 years here, last year was the first time I tried cooking my rock-hard pears. Live and learn. :) The birds and small animals here adore them, like your dog. I will experiment more this year, but not quite yet…waiting for my moment. See you soon again, I hope.

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:26:24 +0000

I also have a mysterious pear tree. It has to be at least 36 years old because it was about seven feet tall when we moved here to our home near Cleveland. The pears are green with areas of brown on them. They never soften no matter what I do to them. They just get rubbery and then rot! I guess I never thought of cooking them. They are crisp and sweet and my dog LOVES them. She practically climbs the tree to get at them!…..So I guess they must be edible. She hasn’t died yet. I’m going to try making some pear preserves, and maybe a pie. Thanks for the good ideas and recipes.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:19:51 +0000

Welcome, JanTN. I don’t know why; I think either way (whether peeling first or using the mill after cooking to remove the pears) you’re accomplishing the same end result: no skins in finished butter. All I have done when making apple butter was pretend I was making applesauce (I don’t peel my apples, but when making butter do use the food mill to remove cooked skins) and then cook it down endlessly (and I mean it take eons) in the Crock-Pot or the oven until it thickens a lot and colors up.