Posted on 21 October 2015 | Categories: Kitchen Tips

Cooking Pear to Perfection

 

Treat pears right and enjoy such perfect fruits to eat directly or even cook for a luscious dessert.


Almost everyone enjoys pears. They are delicious, juicy, and versatile. Besides, the fruits are nourishing with their high nutritional contents. In 100 grams of pears, there are 3.1 grams of dietary fiber, making pears good for digestion. They reduce the risk of obesity, delay hunger, and hold satiation. With their high amount of vitamin C, pears are also good for your skin.

Nutrition packed in delicacy, this sweet combo is what makes pears popular. However, pears are fragile crop that should be handled with care. Treat pears right and you have perfect fruits to eat directly or even cook for a luscious dessert.

Like other fruits, pears are always harvested before ripe. To prepare them, ripen the fruit by storing it in room temperature for one to two days. Pears are ready to be eaten when the neck, or the slimmer part near the stem, are started to soft. 

After that, pears are safe to be stored in a refrigerator. Pears remain fresh until three to five days after ripening. They will be sweet, crunchy, and juicy. 

Similar to apples, browning could occur to this delicacy. Drench the flesh with lemon juice to prevent it. Lemon can delay fruits browning caused by oxidation. Nevertheless, lemon flavour is very strong that it affects the flavour so that we have to use lemon juice wisely.

People cook pears since they absorb flavours just fine. It makes the fruits richer in taste as well. When cooked, textures of the pears become nice and soft.  With the right step, pears can be transformed into heavenly desserts. The variations are very wide-ranged even from the most rustic dish such as pears pie to the most exquisite dessert like poached pears in wine.

The question is: what kind of pears suitable for cooking?

What we are looking from cooking pears is the kind that holds their shape when exposed to heat. Beurre Bosc is a perfect example since it is solid enough plus the bonus of its beautiful long shape. The other sturdy kinds are Anjou and French Butter. On the contrary, if you want to cook pears for sauce, you need the kinds that fall apart and easy to mash. The Bartlett kind is perfect for its juiciness.

It is true that fruits are healthier when eaten fresh, including pears. Still, there are ways to preserve their nutrition when cooked. The first is to cook pears when they are ripe as the texture allows them to absorb much flavour. In such a way, it does not take so long to cooks the pear.

The second way is not to cooks it in high temperature. Although high heat does not affect the content of carbohydrates, fibers, and protein. it affects vitamin C contents in this fruit. Thus, cook pears just enough tot preserve its nutrition and the texture.



Text: Dina Vionetta
Picture: 123rf.com

Tags: pear, anjou, beurre bosc, french butter, bartlett, poached pear, pear oxidation, pear browning, how to store pear. how to cook pear, cooking pear