October 17, 2012

how to eat a pear

More often than not I forget that we live 3,963 miles from home. Life in Zürich really isn't that different. But of course just as I'm getting comfortable and beginning to feel like an insider WHAM the Swiss pull a fast one on me and I'm left feeling far away. The most recent culture shock incident occurred at the market yesterday when I watched as a woman ate a pear from the top down. Crazy! She might as well have been fifteen feet tall with blue skin, pointy ears, and affinity for climbing trees. 

I didn't take notice of her at first (maybe because she was only five feet tall). I was busy perusing the Nusslisalat and she was inspecting heads of Eichblatsalat. I gazed around to get someones attention and I looked over at her just in time to see her pluck the stem off of a pear and chomp off the top. 

Is it still a pear when you take away its elongated pear neck? I don't know, but I'm not sure I'll ever be the same. 

I grew up eating pears like apples - and I'm guessing you did too - where the first bite is a big one smack in the widest part of the fruit. The stem on a pear is actually quite useful; something to hold on to as you make your way around the juicy circumference. Before this recent incident I would have bet there was a universal, cross cultural, understanding that pears are eaten around the middle first. Little did I know...

It's unsettling, I know. 

And no, this woman and her pear were not an isolated incident. I asked Zach about it last night and he confirmed that his Swiss colleagues eat pears from the top-down too. 

Try it sometime, maybe when you have company - blow their minds just a little bit. Tell them it must be all the Swiss chocolate you've been eating recently. And then serve them poached pears, maybe even with chocolate sauce, to ensure that their minds keep spinning. They'll never think of pears the same again, but that's okay, this poached pear recipe is worth a mind game or two. 

I'm not sure how I decided on a poached pear recipe. I mean I know I had pears on the mind - in a big way - but I'm not sure I've ever even eaten a fresh poached pear, and certainly not a pear poached in red wine. It sound so simple, almost too easy to be so good. The simplicity is what's interesting about it actually; just a little wine, sugar, orange zest and cinnamon and you can elevate the one dimensional pear into a complex balance of flavors. The pearness of the pear remains, but the red wine makes it fruitier and the sugar makes it sweeter and the orange and cinnamon make it, well, taste like Christmas. 
I might start making poached pears just for the fragrance that dances sweetly around the apartment. To me they smell like Christmas. To you they might smell like fall. My mom has a tiny, no bigger than a coffee cup, white pot with a wooden handle that she fills with apple cider and mulling spices and leaves on the stove at Christmas time. She always adds a cinnamon stick or two to the pot and perhaps a bit of orange zest and lets it bubble and stew all afternoon and evening. The minute I caught my first whiff and taste of Glühwein - the Swiss mulled wine drink - I was immediately transported back to our Connecticut kitchen. 

Add this to your list of dinner party recipes for the smell alone. Your guests will arrive and think they've stumbled on Hansel and Gretel's cottage. It won't matter if you've burnt the meat or overcooked the rice because you'll always have the pears. 

At first I wasn't sure how I felt about dying the pears red with wine, but it turns out the deep terra-cotta hue is one of the things I like best about them. Paired with ice cream or yogurt the pinkness of the pear stands out. Until of course you cut into it and reveal the pale middle. 
// Poached Pears //
Serves 4

a note on the pears : I chose to leave the pears whole because I like how they look and I liked the idea of cutting into them to reveal the inside. Leaving them whole means you have the core and seeds still so you will need to cut around those when you eat them. You can also half or quarter the pears and remove the core/seeds before cooking. It's really up to you and your personal aesthetics.

a note on the wine: use a fruity red wine if you have one. I used a fruity Merlot. Definitely don't blow the bank on the wine since you will be cooking with it it doesn't need to be exceptional. 

4 pears, pealed (peal from top down in long strips)
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
orange zest - large strips from 1/2 orange
a squeeze of orange juice

Pour the wine and sugar in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the cinnamon sticks, orange zest and orange juice and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the pears and reduce to a simmer. Cook the pears, spinning them every once and a while, for about 20-30 minutes (less if you've halved or quartered the pears). Remove them from the pot and allow them to cool to room temperature before serving. Serve with ice cream or yogurt. 

17 comments:

  1. Love the top-down play by play! Also, the dyed poached pear loos divine -- love that you just left it whole and served it with a scoop! Can't wait to try! xoxo

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  2. Thanks Crem! now get your butt over here so we can eat poached pears together and drink Glühwein and chat about life while the scent of mulling spices drifts around the apartment.

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  3. I think you sold me when you said they smell like Christmas. I've never poached pears before, and I don't even think I've ever eaten them. Yours look absolutely stunning, and all the photos in this post are are lovely. I like how you left your poached pears whole, with the stems attached. Still can't get over the top-down thing, though... I don't think I could try that any time soon!

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    1. Thanks Amy! I know, the top-down technique is really a mind bender. I won't insist you try it, but you should try the poached pears, they are light and flavorful and a wonderful preview to the holidays. And thank you thank you for your nice comment about the photos, I'm so glad you like them!

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  4. Well, it would never have occurred to me to eat the pear top down. I'm going to have to try it out of curiosity. The poached pears look wonderful.

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  5. OMG.... I can't stop laughing. I am from the States and my hubby is from Sweden, but lived in the States for 7 years before we moved to Zurich. Yesterday while eating pears after lunch I've asked my husband how he eats pears and he eats the same way you do, but me on the other end..... I always eat them from TOP to BOTTOM. I can't believe this topic has come up right after we had the same discussion :)
    Cheers to pears!

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    1. Ha!! Oh my goodness, that is too funny. And wait, you are American and eat your pears from the top down? Are your parents Swiss? Where did you pick up the top-down technique. You must feel right at home here in Switzerland!

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  6. Ha, this is so funny. I have to admit, though, that I eat pears the way you do. I am from Lucerne, maybe it is just a Zürich thing? Or maybe I am a weirdo and just dont notice other people eating their pear differently? I'll have to take a closer look.
    And I really need to poach some pears over the weekend. I want to have my home smell like fall and Christmas, and having them for dessert wouldnt be a bad thing, either.

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  7. Haha, Do they do that with apples too? I'm going to try it!

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    1. maybe they eat apples from the bottom up?! yes, try it! Eat a pear top-down in front of Al and MF and see if they say anything....

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  8. This post made me chuckle. I'm totally eating a pear from the top down as soon as I get my hands on one. Your poached pears look lovely and I love that you kept them whole. I've never poached any sort of fruit before, but now I'm totally inspired by your post to try it.

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    1. glad to hear I got a giggle! I hope you make someone else laugh when you eat a pear from the top down. I hope you do try the poached pears, they're delicious!

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  9. Talley you are funny! I love this post, particularly the step by step visual on how to eat a pear. This is going to be my next party trick. Also, thank you for reminding me about the deliciousness of poached pears. I haven't made them in ages, but they are soooo good, and they are light light, as my grandmother would say. Also, my grandmother's kitchen stove also always had a pot filled with mulling spices (and water I think?), and it never feels like Christmas until my kitchen is filled with those same smells. You're really putting me in the spirit here!

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  10. I am so confused! How do you not get your hand covered with pear juice? And don't you then eat part of the core of the pear? I suppose there is only one way to find out (and a pear at home for this very purpose). Hilarious post, Talley. I never cook with pears, but this week I made a chicken dish with pears that was delicious... poached pears might just be next!

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    1. my hands were a bit juicy, but as for the core, it's actually pretty small and soft and generally easy to avoid. did you try it? And chicken with pears? Please to tell!

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  11. It's original and interesting, but I want to know if it is really delicious. I'd rather eat it fresh.

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    1. I love fresh pears too, but I think for dessert these poached pears are wonderful - a sweet and delicate end to a meal.

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