I (Kate) couldn’t stop buying fresh produce the summer after we moved to Utah—there were boxes of perfectly ripe, gorgeous specimens for such amazing prices. I didn’t know what to do with myself it was all so stimulating, and then I didn’t know what to do with the fruit. I bought way more than we could eat, even after sharing. Neighbors quickly taught me how to can safely and with their wonderful, hard-won tips. I started making pear sauce both as a way to use up pears and as food for baby Sephe. Ina Garten bakes her applesauce, so I decided to do the same with pears. Once I started making it, there was no going back.
It was gratifying how much all three of our girls loved it. I imagine it’s what ambrosia tastes like. The roasting enhances and intensifies pears' subtle flavors. It's scrumptious on its own in a pretty little dish, to the side of a meat or egg-heavy main dish, or as a topping for pancakes, french toast or waffles. Just follow your pear sauce bliss.
Pear Sauce
2 lemons
nearly 1/2 bushel of fresh pears
1/3 to 1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider
1 to 2 cinnamon sticks
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a heavy, oven-safe pot with an oven-safe lid.
Juice two lemons into the pot (you might want to zest them first, then save the zest refrigerated in a small jar for another delicious item later in the week).
Peel and core the pears, dropping them into the lemon juice as you do (a melon-baller is ideal for coring the pears). Occasionally mix the pears around to share that nice juice, which slows down their browning.
When the pot is full to the brim with pears, add three big gobs of honey and a good swig of apple cider (mb 1/4 cup). Also, one or two cinnamon sticks if you have them, but keep a light hand with the cinnamon so it enhances but doesn’t outshine their subtler flavor glories.
Bake the pears, covered, for 2 hours. Use an immersion blender to turn them into sauce, or smash with a potato masher for a chunkier sauce. Spoon the sauce into freezer-safe containers, then cool completely before freezing whatever you won’t be eating within the week. If you want to bottle the sauce, follow the same procedure you would for applesauce--a boiling water bath for 20 minutes in Ball jars with new, clean canning lids.
This makes about four quarts for sauce, but often we like to open a pint instead of a quart, because the sauce is precious and lasts longer that way. If you can the sauce here’s a tip: to keep jars from breaking during processing, remember to put an old rag on top of the rack in the bottom of the canner and be careful that they don’t undergo more than a 70 degree change in temperature, which means you should fill those jar while the pear sauce is hot and fresh from the oven.
