Using

Florida Pears

Pears grow abundantly from central Florida
northward. The 3 most common varieties are
Hood and Baldwin (both semi-soft pears) and
Pineapple or Sand Pear (a hard pear). Flavorful
and suited to many uses, pears are plentiful dur-
ing late summer. Pears contribute small amounts
of calcium, iron, and the B vitamins. One raw
pear 3 x 31/2 inches has about 95 calories. Two
medium-sized pear halves canned in a medium
syrup contain about 79 calories. Pears are classed
with all other fruits as being low in calories when
served fresh or from the can.
When they are made into pies, cobblers, jams
and preserves, pears take on considerably more
calories from the addition of sugar or honey, flour,
shortening and other ingredients.
Fresh raw pears of Hood or Baldwin varieties
are delicious for eating "out of hand." The harder
Sand or Pineapple pear is of good flavor but crisp
in texture.
For a fine-grained texture and good flavor,
gather pears when grown but not fully ripened.
Keep at room temperature several days (or longer
for hard pears) to ripen.
Try fresh pears in these ways:
Eating "out of hand"
Salads
Sandwiches
Fruit cups
With cold cereals
With cheese and crackers
as dessert

Circular 216

Using FLORIDA FRUITS

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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA

3. Cut butter, vanilla and salt into the flour-sugar
mixture with a fork or pastry blender. Spread
over the fruit.
4. Bake in a moderate oven (350 F.) about 25-45
minutes, or until the fruit is tender and the
crumb is a golden brown.
5. Serve warm with or without cream. 6 to 8
servings.
NOTE: If sweetened canned or frozen fruit
is used, reduce the amount of sugar in the crust.

HONEY BAKED PEARS
8 pear halves
1% cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon cinnamon
% cup honey 2 tablespoons butter
1. Arrange pears in buttered baking dish.
2. Pour lemon juice and honey over pears.
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with butter.
4. Bake in moderate oven at 350 F. until the pears
are tender, basting several times.
5. Serve hot with cream as dessert.

BAKE PEARS AND MINCEMEAT
4 pear halves % cup mincemeat
1. Drain canned pear halves. (If fresh pears are
used, sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar, or less.)
2. Place halves in a shallow pan.
3. Put 2 tablespoons mincemeat in each half.
4. Add enough pear juice (or water if fresh pears
are used) to keep the fruit from scorching.
5. Bake in a slow oven (300 F.) 25 to 30 minutes.
4 servings.

PEAR AND ORANGE SANDWICH
1 cup chopped pears (fresh or canned)
% cup orange marmalade
1 tablespoon preserved ginger, finely chopped
12 thin slices whole wheat bread
Butter
1. Run pears through food chopper to make pulp.
2. Combine pear pulp, orange marmalade and
ginger.
3. Spread 3 or 4 tablespoons on thin slice of but-
tered bread and top with another slice. Cut
in desired shape.

PEAR AND COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD
6 pear halves, chilled 6 lettuce cups
1 cup cottage cheese 2 tablespoons sweet cream
% teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1. Drain pear halves if canned pears are used.
2. Place pear half on lettuce cup or chopped
lettuce.
3. Combine cottage cheese, cream and salt.
4. Pile cottage cheese, cream and salt on pear half.
5. A spoon of mayonnaise may be put on the
cottage cheese, if desired.
6 servings.

PEARS POACHED IN ORANGE SAUCE
1 cup orange juice 6 pears, halved and cored
2 tablespoons lemon juice % cup sugar
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
1. Combine orange juice, lemon juice, sugar and
grated orange rind in a large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Add pears and simmer very gently for about
15 minutes, or until pears are tender. (Turn
pears frequently while cooking.)
4. Remove cooked pears from syrup and boil
syrup 5 minutes longer.
5. Pour over pears, and chill thoroughly before
serving.
6 servings.
STUFFED PEARS
6 canned pear halves, %4 cup chopped nuts
chilled %4 teaspoon vanilla or
1% cup whipping cream other flavoring
1 teaspoon sugar
1. Whip cream.
2. Combine whipped cream, nuts, sugar and
flavoring.
3. Pile lightly in chilled pears.
6 servings.

Compiled by Food and Nutrition Specialists

April 1961
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN
AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS
(Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914)
Agricultural Extension Service, University of Florida,
Florida State University and
United States Department of Agriculture, Cooperating
M. O. Watkins, Director

Use canned pears in these ways:
Baked
Broiled
Fried
In salads
Fruit cups
Pies, dumplings and tarts
Upside down and coffee cakes
Pears are better suited to canning than freez-
ing. The hard pears must be pre-cooked and
cooled if frozen. It is just as easy to can in jars
or cans and give a short water bath. This saves
valuable freezer space for other items.

CANNED PEAR HALVES
1. Wash, pare and cut into halves, core and then
slice if desired.
2. Drop as cored into a large container of clear

3. When fruit is ready

water to which 2 table-
spoons of vinegar or 1
tablespoon of salt has
been added to prevent
darkening of fruit.
to pre-cook, drain and

drop into a thin or medium syrup (2 parts
syrup to 1 part water) and cook 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Pack the fruit in hot sterile jars.
5. Cover with hot syrup as jar is packed. Seal.
6. Process in water bath-pints 8 to 10 minutes
and quarts 16 to 20 minutes.
7. If packed in tin cans, plunge cans into cold
water immediately after removing from water
bath.
8. In making syrup, a mild honey may be sub-
stituted for 1/2 the sugar, giving a product of
very interesting flavor.

PEAR MINCEMEAT
2 dozen large, hard pears
6 cups sugar 1 tablespoon salt
2 lemons 1 tablespoon cinnamon
% cup vinegar 1 tablespoon cloves
1 tablespoon grated nutmeg
1. Grind pears with coarse blade of food chopper.
2. Grind lemon rind after squeezing juice out.

3. Combine all ingredients including lemon juice
and cook until mixture is thick and tender.
4. Pour hot into sterile jars and seal.
5. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath.

SWEET PEAR PICKLES
1. Wash, pare, and core pears.
2. If very hard, cover with water and pre-cook
8 to 10 minutes.
3. Make a syrup of 6 cups of sugar, 2 cups of
vinegar, 4 cups of water, 1 tablespoon ginger,
11/2 teaspoon of whole cloves, 2 tablespoons
stick cinnamon.
4. Pour this hot syrup over pears and let stand
overnight.
5. Drain off syrup and reheat it.
6. Pour over fruit and let stand again. After re-
peating 2 to 3 times, fruit should be well sat-
urated and clear.
7. Pack in jars, cover with boiling hot syrup and
seal.
PEAR PRESERVES
1. Wash, pare, and core pears. They may be
preserved whole, in halves or in quarters.
2. For 5 medium-sized pears, make a syrup of 2
cups of sugar, 2 cups of water, and 1 lemon
sliced very thin.
3. Boil sugar and water for 5 minutes.
4. Add pears and lemon. Cool until pears are
clear and transparent and syrup is of a thick
consistency.
5. A few cloves or stick cinnamon may be added
for flavor, when the syrup is made.
6. Pack hot pear preserves into sterile jars and
seal. Process for 8 minutes in a boiling water
bath.
PEAR CRISP
1 quart pared and sliced fresh pears
1 cup sifted flour % teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar 1/ cup butter
% teaspoon vanilla
1. Put sliced pears in a buttered deep pie pan.
2. Mix flour and sugar.

HISTORIC NOTE

The publications in this collection do
not reflect current scientific knowledge
or recommendations. These texts
represent the historic publishing
record of the Institute for Food and
Agricultural Sciences and should be
used only to trace the historic work of
the Institute and its staff. Current IFAS
research may be found on the
Electronic Data Information Source
(EDIS)

site maintained by the Florida
Cooperative Extension Service.

Copyright 2005, Board of Trustees, University
of Florida