Title: pears-msg
Subject: Period pears and pear recipes.
Author: Edited by Mark S. Harris
Last saved by: Mark S. Harris
Keywords: medieval, fruit, pear, dessert, period, warden, recipe

pears-msg - 12/1/18

Period pears and pear recipes.

NOTE: See also these files: fruits-msg, apples-msg, fruit-quinces-msg,
fruit-melons-msg, fruit-citrus-msg, wine-msg, perry-msg, Period-Fruit-art.

************************************************************************
NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the individual authors.

Please  respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The  copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this time. If  information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,
    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous
                                          Stefan at florilegium.org
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Date: Mon, 28 Jul 97 19:37:17 -0500
From: Dottie Elliott <macdj at onr.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Pears in Wine Sauce questions....

rebecca tants 7/28/97 3:57 PM:
>Two questions regarding Pears in Wine Sauce - 
>1) I've been served this SO many times at feasts.  Is it documentable?

Yes.  I don't have the cookbook with me but I will look it up later.

>2) Regardless, can you make it in advance and freeze it (like for pennsic)?
>Or will that wreck the texture and I should just bite the bullet and cook
>them onsite?  (Not difficult, but the person who want's them wants LOTS of
>them to go with the LOTS of Onion Sops her husband wants, which can be made 
>in advance and frozen......  The less Pennsic time over a hot stove making
>large quantities of ostensible staples, the happier I will be :-)

I do this all the time. It freezes very well.  For those who can't 
consume alcohol, I have also cooked this particular dish substituting 
apricot nectar for the wine. It tastes wonderful and also freezes well.

Clarissa

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 08:16:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bronwynmgn at aol.com
Subject: Re: SC - Pears in Wine Sauce questions....

<< Two questions regarding Pears in Wine Sauce -  
 1) I've been served this SO many times at feasts.  Is it documentable? >>

There is a Pears in Wine Syrup recipe in _Traveling Dysshes_.  The recipe in
question is taken from Harleian MS 279.10, Fifteenth Century England and
France.

I believe that this is part of _Two Fifteenth Century Cookery Books_.  So at
least one recipe for Pears served in a wine syrup or sauce is documentable to
the fifteenth century.

By the way, in this book (Traveling Dysshes) there is a variation using
canned pears.  This eliminates having to poach the pears.  But you still have
to keep the syrup on the stove for a while to simmer it down.

Brangwayna Morgan

Date: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 09:11:13 -0500
From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter)
Subject: Re:  SC - Pears in Wine Sauce questions....

Hi, Katerine here.  Ruadh asks:

>Two questions regarding Pears in Wine Sauce - 
>1) I've been served this SO many times at feasts.  Is it documentable?

Eminently.  Recipes under two names (pears in confit, and wardons [or
pears] in syrup) can be found in Form of Curye (#136), an Ordinance
of Pottage (#86, #65), MS Harley 5401 (#44, #60), MS Arundel 334 (#120), 
and both the manuscripts in Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books (first
MS, Pottages Diverse #10; second MS, #96).

Now, whether what you're used to actually follows any of these, or
any other, is a separate question, which of course I can't answer without
the recipe.

Cheers,
- -- Katerine/Terry

Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 00:06:36 -0700 (PDT)
From: rousseau at scn.org (Anne-Marie Rousseau)
Subject: SC - Pears in Wine Sauce

Hello all from Anne-Marie.
A lady asks about pears in wine sauce. Yes, they are very medieval, as 
you can see from the myriad sources that others have given you already. 
You asked for a recipe. Here is a reconstruction done by Janelyn of 
Fenmere. We used it at our recent Boon Day meal, with great success. I 
have given you the instructions for using canned pears, since it sounds 
like you'll be camping.

If you need the primary source as well, let me know.

Wardonys in syryp (Harleian MS 279)
1 16 oz can pear halves in light syrup
1 cup sweet red wine (we used port)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 small pinch saffron

Combine the wine and spices and vinegar. Boil for about 20 minutes, until 
it starts to thicken. Add the drained pears to the wine mixture and stir 
till well coated. Can be served warm or cold. Serves 4-6, one pear half 
per person.

If you cannot use real wine, I would suggest de-alchoholed wine. If you 
can't afford that, use the light syrup from the pears (it's grape juice, 
that tastes from the pears that were in it).

For camping, I would suggest making up the syrup ahead of time, and 
putting it in jars. On site, open cans of pears, and throw them into the 
warmed up syrup. Save the juice from the can. You can mix it with 
leftover syrup and make a very tasty treat for the cooks.

Have fun!
- --Anne-Marie
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Anne-Marie Rousseau
rousseau at scn.org
Seattle, Washington

Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 21:00:08 -0500
From: gfrose at cotton.vislab.olemiss.edu (Terry Nutter)
Subject: Re:  SC - Dessert Recipes

Hi, Katerine here.  Stefan asks how to tell cooking from eating pears.
Well, generically, cooking pears tend to be tarter, and hard and crunchy
when fully ripe.  But given how unripe most supermarket fruit in the US
is, applying the rule requires prior familiarity with what the variety
*should* be like.

In the US, the most common cooking pears are Bosc pears, which are large,
crunchy, and which tend to retain a greenish cast to the peel even when
fully ripe.  The most common eating pears are probably Anjous.

Cheers,
- -- Katerine/Terry

Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 13:45:25 +0000
From: Cynthia Cooper <C.Cooper at massey.ac.nz>
Subject: Re: SC - Dessert Recipes

> Stefan asks how to tell cooking from eating pears.

Many years ago, in a land far, far away. ie when I was a small child 
growing up in England. We had several fruit trees in the garden. One 
of these was a large pear tree. The fruit was very hard and almost 
imposible to eat fresh.  But I liked the flavour and would chip 
little pieces off with my teeth. One pear would keep me busy for a 
long time. The family eat these pears after they had been either 
stewed or bottled. I have no idea what type of pear this was, but it was 
definately a cooking pear. So I can say when you have experienced the 
two types there is no question as to the difference between a 
cooking pear and an eating pear. 

Cynethryth the Dutiful

Cynthia Cooper
Marketing Department      Phone: 64-6-350-5594
Massey University           Fax: 64-6-350-2260
Private Bag 11222           E-mail: C.Cooper at massey.ac.nz
Palmerston North             http://www.massey.ac.nz/~ccooper/
New Zealand

Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 12:46:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: Uduido at aol.com
Subject: SC - Pears

<< How do I know which pears are cooking pairs and which
 ones are best for eating? Are they labeled this way or
 should I look for specific names?
  >>

Winter pears are cooking pears. They tend to remain hard like quinces until
cooked.

Lord Ras

Date: Tue, 14 Oct 1997 01:37:16 -0400
From: marilyn traber <margali at 99main.com>
Subject: Re: SC - apples

LrdRas at aol.com wrote:
> << or, depending on ingredient proportion and emphasis, applesauce
>  thickened with rice flour, and sometimes eggs.  >>
>
> This is in fact the version I use. Basically it's a baked custard with
> lots of apple sauce
>
> Ras

Take a large can of pears in syrup, drain and reserve the heavy syrup.
Give the pears a whirl in a blender, adding just enough juice to make it
pearsauce. Use in place of the pumpkin in a pie recipe. Pour a puddle of
whole cream on the surface when it is about half done.

margali

Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 18:50:02 -0500
From: "Louise Sugar" <dragonfyr at tycho.com>
Subject: SC - Fw: collegium spiced pears 

thought you would enjoy these  :)

- -----Original Message-----
From: "Pat McGregor" <pat at lloyd.com> by way of Pat McGregor <pat at lloyd.com>
To: SCA-WEST at galaxy.csuchico.edu <SCA-WEST at galaxy.csuchico.edu>
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 1997 5:25 PM
Subject: collegium spiced pears

>Several people have written in the last couple of days asking for this
>recipe in time for Thanksgiving.... so I'm broadcasting it a tad
>bit wider...
>
>>My lady was after the recipe for the pears that, as I recall, were just
>>by theselves in I believe some red liquid(?).  I distictly recall her
>>saying "these are really good" and she keeps refering to them as "spiced".
>>Does this help?  Sorry my lady is at work. :)  Any help appreciated.
>>
>got it! THey're called Bullace or Bullyce: Pears in Plum sauce.
>
>This is from "Take a Thousand Eggs or More" by Cindy Renfrew;
>the recipe is originally from  "Two fifteenth century cookery bokes".
>
>Bolas/Bullace/Bullyce
>
>1/2 lb red plums, washed and pitted
>1 cup red wine or burgundy
>1 tsp rice flour
>1 ripe, firm pear, halved and cored
>3 dates, pitted and halved lengthwise
>2 Tablespoons sugar
>1 tsp ginger powder
>1/8 tsp clove
>1/2 tsp mace
>1 tsp. cinnamon
>
>Put plums and 1/2 cup read wine in a covered pot. Boil; cook until the plums
>turn to pulp. Remove from heat. Strain the wine and plums through a strainer
>into a pot. Add rice flour and stir. Re-heat, stirring steadily until the
>mixture thickens slightly. Add spices and stirr until the mixture is as
>thick as liquid jelly. Remove from heat, pour into a shallow dish and set
>aside.
>
>Cook the pear in 1/2 cup red wine until it is fork tender. remove, drain,
>slice into six slices. Arrange on the dish with the plum sauce.
>
>Take the six date pieces, sprinkle with White powder, and arrange with
>the sauce and pears. Serve Cold.
>
>White Powder (according to Renfrew; each cook made up her/his own.)
>
>2 tsp cinnamon powder
>1 tsp ginger powder
>1 tsp nutmeg powder
>2 tsp sugar.
>
>Mix, store in an airtight container.
>
>  pat/siobhan
>======================================================
>Siobhan Medhbh O'Roarke / Pat McGregor/ siobhan at lloyd.com
>       House Northmark, Cynagua, The West
>   http://www.lloyd.com/~patmcg/sca.index.html

Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998 21:26:46 EST
From: LrdRas <LrdRas at aol.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Fruits

margritt at mindspring.com writes:
<<  Same for the terms "Pears" and "Wardens". Are Wardens a specific type of
 pear? >>

Wardens are a specific type of pear and are available in better markets today.
Thay are essentially a hard cooking pear, IIRC.

Ras

Subject: ANST - POIRES AU GRATIN
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 98 01:02:00 MST
From: "James Crouchet" <jtc at io.com>
To: ansteorra at Ansteorra.ORG

Posting Recipes, are we? Ok, I'll play.

Did anyone like the Pear Dessert at Candlemas? Here it is:

POIRES AU GRATIN

Take several pears and cut them corse. To make a sauce, boil and
strain apricots and mix them with sugar and sweet spices. Add
wine and brandywine. Add butter and thicken. Put the pears in a dish
with butter and the sauce and bake in a hot oven. Serve with crisp
pastry.

Or in modern form:

4 large Anjou pears (1/2 lb each) - peel, core and dice very coarse.
Remember, pear cores are much smaller than apple cores, so don't cut
away too much. Put in a deep bowl.

To make the sauce, mix an 18oz jar of apricot preserves (the
kind with sugar) with 2 tbsp dry vermouth, 1 tbsp brandy and 1 tbsp
sherry. Spice to taste. I used 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cardamom
and 1/4 tsp allspice, but allspice and possibly cardamom are new
world. Do not add vanilla or the pears will be overpowered. Add 2.5
tbsp unsalted butter and puree in a blender.

Pour the sauce into the bowl of pears and add 1/4 cup powdered
tapioca (or substitute your favorite unflavored thickener) and mix it
well. [Note: I doubt tapioca is period for Europe, but I like it as
it is almost completely flavorless.]

Lightly coat an 12x8 pan with unsalted butter. Pour the pears and
sauce in the pan and level. Crumble 2 or 3 puff pastry over the
top and bake at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes (add five minutes if
more than 2 pans are done at once).

Just before serving, top with a crisp puff pastry. The choice of
pastry is critical and I find that (ironically) a cookie called a
Dore is perfect. You could also experiment with butter cookies or
shortbreads, but the heavier the cookie, the more it will distract
from the pears.

For your own use, plan on 8 servings from a dish. For a feast, do 1
dish for about every 14 people as some will not or cannot eat it and
most folks will be full by then. At Candlemas I did not have any left
to take home.

Don Christian Dore

p.s. - Yes, it means pears with cheese. No, there is no cheese. I
have no idea where the name came from, but this a variation of a
French dessert that is still popular today.

Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 15:18:34 +0100
From: "Yeldham, Caroline S" <csy20688 at GlaxoWellcome.co.uk>
Subject: SC - Wardens in syrup

Had a look at Cindy's redactions, and it reminded me of something I meant to
mention.  Wardens were notoriously hard pears, even when ripe.  I suspect
the initial simmer, unpeeled, was to get them down to a reasonable
handleable level before peelling and the rest of the recipe.  I use pears as
hard as I can find (under-ripe conference usually), as I find ripe pears
tend to disintegrate into a slush too quickly.

Caroline

Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 13:44:06 -0500 (CDT)
From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at ptd.net>
Subject: SC - Re: Wardonys in Syrop, WAS:Many Questions

From: renfrow at skylands.net (Cindy Renfrow)

2)I am opening with Wardonys in Syrup, and I have found a few different
versions.  Some boils the pears till tender in water, and some use a red
wine with mulberries.  I was wondering if anyone had done this and which
they used, and results, that sort of thing...  Also, if there is anything
restrictive about the European distribution of Morus Spp., however I don't
remember hearing about any.

Hi again!  I forgot -- I posted a wardonys in syrup recipe to
http://members.aol.com/renfrowcm/ttemsample.html

Cindy

I heartily reccomend the "poached in red wine" version from Pleyn Delit,
though I used their original and had novice cooks redact it from scratch .
We used it one or two events ago, for my First Baromial Investiture menu,
and that set of novice cooks were able to do a terrific job of it. They were
so good the pears almost didn't make it out of the kitchen! As a joke, one
of the cooks poked cloves into several pieces (thereby making the poached
pear quarters look like purple slugs with eyes), and served them to High Table.

This dish is versatile enough to be done up to a week in advance and
chilled, so that the day of the event you need only portion it out and serve
it. It improves with the added "marinating" time. Since it comes out a nice
rich red/purple color, I reccomend that you garnish with something very
pale: long strings of lemon or orange zest made using a zester, perhaps, or
whipped-cream puffs, and serve on a pale plate. Another good bet would be
shortbread fans stuck into one or two of them (wait, I'm getting visually
inspired here.......). Sudden vision: Lemon and orange zest tails and wings
(or lettuce or sweet herbs), and a head from a piece of pastry stuck in the
last minute: Voila, a phoenix! It might be worth the trouble for high table!
I think I just invented a Dish.

Aoife--who happens to be very hungry at the moment.

Date: Sun, 23 May 1999 10:25:56 -0700 (MST)
From: Ben Engelsberg <bengels at chronic.lpl.arizona.edu>
Subject: SC - Recipe from an old Gourmet magazine

I was flipping through some old issues of Gourmet last night, looking for
something to bring to a mundane potluck, and I came upon this recipe.  It
seems particularly period, not to mention tasty.

This recipe is from the December 1998 issue, on page 196.

ROASTED SPICED PEARS & FIGS WITH ALMONDS
1/2 cup sliced almonds
4 firm-ripe pears (prefereably Bartlett)
1/2 pound of dried figs (as soft as possible, about 12)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 vanilla bean (My note:  Never been sure where/when this is period)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Gourmet recommends sour cream as an accompanyment, Clotted or whipped
cream would also work well, as would cream fraische(sp?).

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 d. Farenheit

In an ovenproof 10" heavy skillet toast almonds in one layer, in middle of
oven until golden, about 5 minutes, and transfer to bowl.

Halve pears lengthwise and cut each half into 3 wedges, discarding cores.
Quarter figs lengthwise.

In skillet, melt sugar and butter over moderate heat, stirring
occasionally, until sugar is melted completely, and remove skillet from
heat.  With a knife, halve vanilla bean lengthwise, and scrape seeds into
butter mixture.  With a wooden spoon, stir in vanilla pod, cinnamon,
allspice, pears, and figs until coated and roast in middle of oven 20
minutes, or until pears are just tender.  Remove vanilla pod and with
spoon stir in almonds until well coated.

Serve warm with accompaniement.

Serves 8.

Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 08:07:46 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Severely off topic .... Personna help

> One thing I haven't tracked down and confirmed yet was the suggestion
> the Bosc pear was developed in Belgium, not France, so it is worth
> looking there for a location by that name.
>
> Seumas

The Bosc pear is named after Louis Auguste Guillaume Bosc, the 19th Century
horticulturalist.

Bear

Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 11:44:59 -0500
From: "Barbara Benson" <vox8 at mindspring.com>
Subject: [Sca-cooks] On Topic, Welserin's Pear Mustard (long)
To: "Cooks List" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I am working on an A&S entry for this weekend, long story short, starting at
one spot ended up with me making a variety of mustards, one of them being
Welserin's Pear. There are many different redactions on the web, and even
several that were posted here I hope what I have done will add at least a
little interesting to the corpus. The following is the second Appendix to my
research that discusses the Pear Preserves I used to make the Mustard, I
have just copied and pasted so it is in "documentation" speak.

Appendix B
The Welserin recipe calls for pear preserves. I did not want to purchase
ready made preserves (assuming they could be found), but neither Welserin
nor her contemporary Rumpolt saw fit to provide us with a recipe for pear
preserves. Instead of moving to a parallel source from another region of
Europe I decided to look back in time to earlier German manuscripts, hoping
to keep the continuity of the region.

Luckily the Teutonic cookbook provides us with a sort of pear preserve.
18. Wilthu ein grune? von Huzellen machenn:
so wasche die Huzell gar schone und stos sie clein und streich sie durch
mytt Wein und seidt sye dann woll und thu dan darein guett Hoengk und wurz
genuck und wer es zu din, so reib Prott darein und thu es in ein Haffenn so
bleybett es dir 4 ader 6 wochen guett. das magst kallt ader warm gebenn und
stre(u) Zucker daruff und Zimettrindenn.

18. If you want to make a green (dish) of pears
Wash the pears nicely and pound them finely. Pass them through a sieve with
wine, boil them well and add good honey and enough spices. If it is too
thin, add ground breadcrumbs. If you put it into a crock, it will last
for 4 to 6 weeks. It can be served cold or hot. Sprinkle it with sugar and
cinnamon.

In keeping with the theme of this line of research I chose to update the
recipe to coincide with what I have found by comparing the texts, namely
that the use of honey had been all but phased out by the 16th century in
most things. So, to this end I substituted sugar for honey in the recipe and
I utilized the same Reisling wine that I chose for the end sauce.

To determine what spices to use I reviewed the Welserin manuscript and
identified five recipes that were for dishes in which pears were the main
ingredient. The break down of the seasoning was: two with cinnamon only; two
with cinnamon and cloves; and one with cinnamon, ginger and cloves. The
original recipe calls for cinnamon at the end, so I chose to go with
cinnamon and cloves to fulfill the mandate of "enough" spices.

Lastly, the issue of pears, I went to the market and looked at all of the
pears available to me. Of all on display the ones that were labeled
 "Forelle" looked the best in quality, so those are what I bought. Upon
returning home I decided to see what I could find on the pear, fully
expecting it to be a modern variety, but hopefully better than a Bosc. What
I was able to find was fortuitous:

      "Forelles are a very old variety, and are thought to have originated
sometime in the 1600's in northern Saxony, Germany. The name Forelle
translates to mean "trout" in the German language. It is believed that the
variety earned this name because of the similarity between the pear's
brilliant red lenticles and  the colors of a Rainbow trout.."

           Pear Bureau Northwest. Forelle Pears - History.
http://www.usapears.com/
http://www.usapears.com/varieties_forelle.php#history
With no further research to substantiate this claim, I would not hold it as
fact. But possibly luck was with me that day.
Ingredients:
      6 small Forelle Pears
      3/4 C Reisling Wine
      1 1/2 C Sugar
      1 t Cinnamon
      pinch Cloves
Peel pears and cut in half, remove seeds and chop coarsely. Place in food
processor with wine and process until smooth. Force mixture through a sieve
into non-reactive cooking pot. Add spices and sugar, stir to combine. Bring
to a boil and hold at a low boil for 30 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid
scorching. Refrigerate or can using sanitary methods.

There have been plenty of redactions of the mustard itself posted, so unless
someone wants it I will not make this any longer. One point that I was a bit
confused on tho, in most of the redactions by SCA'ers that I have seen they
have added vinegar. In the Welserin it calls for wine. I was wondering why
people added the vinegar.

Glad Tidings,
Serena da Riva

Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2008 14:59:53 -0500
From: "Barbara Benson" <voxeight at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period pear varieties?
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

<<< All the discussion of period apples has got me wondering about pears.  Here in Oklahoma, we only get Bartlett's (green and red), d'Anjou, and Bosc.  For the first time yesterday I found seckle (sp?), which were tiny and wonderfully sweet but with a bitterish skin.  Is this a period variety?  Are any period varieties of pears available in the U.S.?

Talana >>>

I would have to dig up my actual documentation, but I made pear
preserves for an A&S entry once and had to look into this subject.
(Actually, the entry was several mustards, one of which called for
pear preserves so the info was in an appendix to the documentation)

I was able to find Forelle pears in my local Farmer's Market and they
appear to be a near period variety (from the 1600's) ... hmmm here is
the info:

"Forelles are a very old variety, and are thought to have originated
sometime in the 1600's in northern Saxony, Germany. The name Forelle
translates to mean "trout" in the German language. It is believed that
the variety earned this name because of the similarity between the
pear's brilliant red lenticles and the colors of a Rainbow trout.."
Pear Bureau Northwest. Forelle Pears - History.

Not from a source that anyone would consider the utmost of
documentation - but a good jumping off point I believe. Sekles appear
to be of American origin in the late 18th early 19th century.
--
Serena da Riva

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:56:05 -0500
From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period pear varieties?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

The pear varieties in the 16th and 17th  centuries should be listed in
John Gerald's /The Herbal Or General History of Plants/. 1597. 1633. 
Revised and Enlarged by Thomas Johnson. New York: Dover Publications, 1975.

and/or

John Parkinson's /A Garden of Pleasant Flowers. Paradisa in Sole 
Paradisus Terrestris/. 1629. New York: Dover, 1976, 1991.

 I did the article on apples but didn't look at pear varieties. I am 
under the impression that we don't see
the books that feature pears in the same way that we see books on apples 
appearing in the 17th centuries.

Those small seckel pears are good candied. Peel them and immerse them in 
a sugar syrup and let them slowly simmer until they sugared.
More tips here: *http://www.usapears.com/pears/varieties_seckel.asp

Johnnae
*
Jennifer Carlson wrote:
<<< All the discussion of period apples has got me wondering about pears.  Here in Oklahoma, we only get Bartlett's (green and red), d'Anjou, and Bosc.  For the first time yesterday I found seckle (sp?), which were tiny and wonderfully sweet but with a bitterish skin.  Is this a period variety?  Are any period varieties of pears available in the U.S.?

Talana >>>

Date: Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:12:22 -0500
From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Period pear varieties?
To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Here's some more information on pears as they appear in
the art of Caravaggio (1571-1610).

*Pear (/Pyrus communis/)*
Pears are found in six of Caravaggio's paintings. A great number of 
types are displayed including yellow, green, and red with size varying 
from small to very large. The small bright red ones in /Boy with a 
Basket of Fruit/ resemble Moscadella (Moscatelle) types described by 
Bimbi as well as the Micheli manuscript, and also resemble one of the 
pears in the Campi painting. The same pears are illustrated in paintings 
by Giovanna Garzoni (Fig. 9). There is evidence of leaf roller damage on 
one yellow pear. The soft-fleshed European pear (/Pyrus communis/), 
native in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, has been considered part 
of the cultural heritage of Europe. The pear has been consumed since 
prehistoric times and dried slices have been unearthed in Swiss cave 
dwellings of the Ice Age. The first literary mention of the pear is 
found in Homer's epic poem /The Odyssey/ and is included as one of the 
"gifts of the gods" which grew in the legendary gardens of Alcin?us. 
They are mentioned by Theophrastus and the Roman agricultural writers; 
Pliny the Elder writes extensively of pear, mentioning many types. The 
pear is found in a number of religious paintings of the Renaissance; the 
most famous is Giovanni Bellini's /Madonna of the Pear/. Pears still 
find a large place in Italian horticulture although the most popular 
pear grown in Italy is now a French cultivar called 'Abb? F?tel'.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/caravaggio/caravaggio.html

Johnnae

Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2014 23:45:34 -0600
From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker@att.net>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks@lists.ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] which pears are cooking pears?

<<< In a recent feast review that Bear sent me, soon to be available in the FEAST-REVIEWS section of the Florilegium, he gave a recipe for Pears in Syrup.

But how do I know which pears that I see in the grocery store are "cooking pears"?

Stefan >>>

You can cook any pear, but it works best if the pear feels hard.  Of the pears commonly available at the grocery, Bartletts are about the worst to cook, Bosc and, secondly, Anjou are about the best.  The choke-pears of the recipe are hard and astringent pears.  They are possibly French butter pears or seckel pears, which are not edible raw unless fully ripe.  Soft pears, particularly Bartlett pears tend to turn to mush fairly quickly.

That said, the pears in syrup I prepared for the Feast of St. Golias were Bartletts, which I bought for half price, picking the hardest feeling ones I could find.

Bear

Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 09:12:34 -0800
From: Donna Green <donnaegreen@yahoo.com>
To: sca-cooks@lists.ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] which pears are cooking pears?

I must have only had ripe seckel pears and French butter pears ... I've never found them to be astringent ... more like transcendent :-) ... very yummy.

If you are looking for astringent pears, might the varieties bred for perry be best? Apple varieties that are specfically for cider tend to be too astringent to eat (for most folks) so would pear varieties be the same? Perhaps someone up in An Tir would have knowledge of this since they grow such lovely pears up that way.

Juana Isabella
West

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