Pears and varieties of apples in a bowl at the Tilth festival in Seattle
Abell, Sam
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La Belle Cuisine - More
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Gingered Confit of
Apples and Pears
 
"The value of those wild fruits is not in
the mere possession
or eating of them,
but in the sight and enjoyment of them."
~ Henry David Thoreau
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Poire
Starlie Sokol-Hohne
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Apples and Pears
Paul Cezanne
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Gingered
Confit of Apples and Pears
 
Patricia Wells at Home in Provence:
Recipes Inspired by Her Farmhouse in France
By Patricia Wells, 1996, Scribner
“I have always had a fascination
for espaliered fruit trees. So once we began expanding the orchard at
Chanteduc, I added a trio of espaliered pear trees,
each shaped into a
compact, well-trained W. The three French varieties –
Comice, Poire
William’s, and Beurre Hardy – ripen at different times and
in good years
provide plenty of fruit for the table and for cooking. One of
my preferred
ways to use them
is in this old-fashioned confit, a golden
dessert of soft
pears and apples bathed in a thick, transparent syrup. It’s
great served
warm with a dollop of cream or at room temperature as a sweet
end to a meal.
The cooking procedure is typical of all confits: The juices
of the fruits
are first released, then gradually reabsorbed by the fruit,
which plump up
during the long, slow cooking process.”
1
1/3 cups (230 g) sugar
Grated
zest (yellow peel) of 2 lemons, blanched and refreshed
Grated
zest (orange peel) of 2 oranges, blanched and refreshed
1
pound (500 g) cooking pears, preferably a range of varieties
5
pounds (2.5 kg) cooking apples, preferably a range of varieties
A
walnut-size knob of ginger and 10 cloves
wrapped in a cheesecloth bag
1
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3
tablespoons Poire William’s (pear eau-de-vie)
1. Place the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest in a large shallow
bowl.
Peel, quarter, and core the fruit, adding each piece of fruit to the
mix-
ture in the
bowl as it is prepared. With your fingers, toss to coat the
fruit evenly with the sugar mixture.
2.
Transfer the coated fruits, sugar and zest to a large,
heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over the lowest heat possible until the
sugar is dis-
solved to a clear liquid, about 20 minutes. Stir from time to
time. Add
the cheesecloth bag with ginger and cloves. Cook, uncovered,
over
the lowest heat possible until the liquid is very thick and syrupy,
but
the fruit still holds its form, about 3 hours. (The fruit will first
release
a great deal of liquid. The long, slow cooking process is
necessary
to permit the juices to reduce, intensify, and thicken.) Stir
from time
to time and keep the heat low to avoid scorching the fruit.
Remove and discard the cheesecloth. Stir in the vanilla extract and pear
eau-de-vie.
Serve warm, with a touch a fresh cream. (The compote may be
stored
up to 1 month, covered and refrigerated.)
Ten
to twelve servings
On apples
and pears: Once you come
to know the different varieties of apples
and pears, you will have a sense
of how they behave when cooked. Golden
Delicious, Granny Smith and
Northern Spy are firm-fleshed varieties that
offer intense apple flavor
and a pleasant tang. They also hold their shape
when cooked. McIntosh tend
to fall apart, but a few can be tossed into a
mixture of firm-fleshed
varieties to add dimension to the flavor. For pears,
the Bartlett and Bosc
are the most versatile. They not only hold their shape
during cooking,
they impart a distinct flavor. The Anjou, though less firm,
provides
plenty of sweet juice for pies and tarts.
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