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To Stew Pears (Take off their stalks put them)
take off their stalks; put them into a stewpan of boiling butter, and shake them over a brisk fire until they are of a nice brown colour; drain them, and arrange them neatly, with their stalks upwards, upon a thick layer of white sugar in a dish. Serve them either warm or cold.
A fried rather than a true stewed pear: the fruit is browned in butter over high heat and served on a bed of sugar that melts into a syrup. It works only with firm fruit and a pan that is not crowded.
- Choose hard pearsThe recipe does not say what sort of pear to use, but small, firm, underripe fruit will hold up best; Seckel, Forelle or an unripe Bosc are modern equivalents. Anything soft enough to eat out of hand risks collapsing into pulp before it colours.
- QuantityNo number is given. As a guide, enough small pears to fill a wide saute pan in a single layer — roughly eight to ten — will serve about four.
- "Boiling butter"This means butter hot enough to foam and just begin to brown. Clarified butter or a mix of butter and a neutral oil holds that heat without the milk solids burning. Allow 4-6 tablespoons for a panful.
- Brisk fireMedium-high heat, and the pan must not be crowded or the fruit steams. Shaking rather than stirring keeps the skins intact; the recipe times by colour rather than by the clock, so go by the browning.
- Peeled or notThe recipe does not say. Left whole with skins on, the pears hold their shape better; pared, they brown faster and absorb more butter but need gentler handling.
- The sugar layerThe recipe asks for a thick layer of white sugar in a shallow serving dish. The heat of the fruit and any butter draining off it will dissolve the top of the layer into syrup, so it is worth putting the pears in hot even if the dish is to be eaten cold.
- ServingGood with cream or creme fraiche. The recipe directs that the pears be drained before arranging them.