Pear Sauce

The Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon is known worldwide for its wonderful pears.  Pear orchards surround our towns and much of our local economy depends on our pear crops.  There are so many varieties grown here such as comice, anjou, seckel, bosc and bartlett.  I must say that my favorite pears are the bartlett variety because they are sweet, juicy and very versatile.  I bought some local bartlett pears the other day to share at a meeting that I had hosted earlier this week.  Luckily for Bruce and I, there were three leftover…  Bruce reminded me this morning as he was heading out the door that we had some pears that were really ripe and needed to be eaten up.

Bartlett Pear

It’s been a while since I made homemade Pear Sauce.  Pear Sauce is similar to apple sauce but you use way less water in the cooking process.  The reason is that ripe pears are really juicy and when you start to cook them, the water is quickly released from the fruit.  As a result, you end may end up with pear soup rather than pear sauce.

If you have any leftover pears or if you want to try something a bit different than applesauce then by all means prepare this dish.  Makes about 2 cups.  Enjoy!  Tessa

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe pears (I used Bartlett)
• 1 Tbs water
• 1 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Begin by washing, peeling, coring and chopping your pears.  Toss all ingredients in a medium sized sauce pan.  Over medium low heat, uncovered, cook for about 15 minutes stirring occasionally.  If the pears look a bit too watery, drain some of the water off.  Remove from heat.  Using a potato masher or stick blender puree the pear mixture.  Let cool. Top with a bit of brown sugar for garnish and serve.  Makes about 2 cups.