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.