What to do with ripe, juicy pears?

Make sorbet, of course.

I mostly followed the recipe. My own variation included leaving the skins on during the simmer and purée steps, but then used a fine mesh strainer to sift the gritty bits to create a very smooth mixture.

Although the pear flavor is more subtle than the previous flavors I've made, this is by far the best consistency and texture I've ever produced. I think it's a combination of factors. Last time, I had to soak the freezer bowl because the strawberry batch stained it. This meant letting it dry (and unfreeze). Before sticking back in the freezer, I wrapped it in a linen towel and then in the plastic bag. After completing the freeze, the entire mixture simply lifted from the bowl clean. I think this is key--bone dry before freezing, smooth and well-chilled mixture, and smaller batch size.

Ingredients:

4 ripe pears, peeled and cored
1 1/4 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

[Variation: I just realized I forgot the lemon juice, and as stated above, I didn't peel the fruit.]


Preparation:

Cut the pears into chunks. Place in a large, nonreactive saucepan along with 1/2 cup of the water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pears are cooked through and tender when poked with a knife.

Transfer the cooked pears to a blender (at this point, you should have about 2 cups of fruit) and add the remaining 3/4 cup water, sugar, and lemon juice. Purée until smooth.

[Modification: I chose to simmer the fruit until tender and make a simple syrup from the remaining water and sugar in a separate pan on the stove. Then I let both mixtures cool for a while before pouring into the blender. I also kept the blender lid vented because of the heat build-up. So I started by puréeing the fruit and then I poured in the syrup.]

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze according to ice cream maker directions.

Spicy Strawberry Sorbet

I made a mango sorbet a few weeks ago. Mom brought a few very ripe mangoes from home, and I used a sorbet recipe from my book. I'm a mango-on-the-side kind of fan...I normally cannot tolerate it on its own. But let me just say this was some great sorbet. We picked up sweet sticky rice from the Thai place, and this made for a very tasty treat.

I'm going to try it again for my gourmet event next month. In the meantime, I want to rave about my new favorite sorbet: spicy strawberry.

I've made it twice now, each a bit different. I think I like the consistency of the first batch better, but I like the flavor of the second batch more. The difference (I believe) is 2-fold: (1) strain the strawberry purée, and (2) beat the snot out of the peppercorns so more of them crack.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons black peppercorns, crushed coarse
1 quart strawberries (preferably local), hulled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste


Preparation:

In a saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peppercorns and remove pan from heat. Cover pan and let syrup stand 1 hour.

Strain syrup through a fine sieve into a food processor or blender and discard peppercorns. Purée hulled strawberries with syrup until very smooth and force though sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds and other solids. Stir in vinegar and chill, covered, until cold. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker.


Last Sunday, I made this for the gourmet club. I beat the peppercorns with a rolling pin and a hammer, and not many of them really cracked--therefore, it was a very light spice in the sorbet. Very nice, but I would have preferred a bit more kick.

Today, I made this for me. I didn't want to take the time to strain the strawberry mash, and now I think it is well worth the step--otherwise, it's still has a lot of air bubbles, which will make for a cotton candy-like texture around day 2. Also, I broke my omlette pan pounding the peppercorns, but it was worth it. More of the oils were released in the syrup-making process.

More to post later...I've taken pictures of my latest home make-over room (the office!). When they're developed, I'll post some here.