Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Inspiration

HappySprout may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

What to do with all the pears you’ll be harvesting this fall

Here are some delicious ways to use your fall pear harvest

Rebecca Wolken
By

It’s always exciting when peak pear picking season is in full swing. Finally, after all those months and possibly even years of hard work, you’ll (literally) get to enjoy the fruits of your labors! You can enjoy the first few pears you pick fresh, whether on their own or as part of a delightful fruit salad. However, after a few, you might start to wonder what exactly you should do with all of these pears.

Some pear trees can produce up to 50 pounds of fruit. That’s a lot of pears, even for the most avid pear lover! If you’re in need of some inspiration for what to do with pears from your harvest, we have some ideas for you.

Cooked pears with cinnamon
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Cook and bake your pears

Pear season is typically around October, just when the weather is starting to get chilly. Sweaters are coming out of closets and hot drinks are being served at coffee shops. Here are some of the best ways you can cook and bake pears to get the most out of this year’s harvest.

Related

Crisps and pies

As they say, there’s nothing more American than apple pie, but we want to challenge that with pear crisps and pies. These desserts (or morning coffee sidekicks) are sweet, soft, and spicy in all the best ways. For these types of recipes, it’s best to use firm pears that haven’t yet fully ripened. Pears that are too ripe will be gooey and turn to mush when baked. Firm pears will soften up in the oven while still maintaining a bit of their texture.

Recommended Videos

Mashed

This pear puree recipe by Martha Stewart turns overripe pears into a simple yet delicious pear dessert. All you need is ripe pears, pear brandy, and sugar. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar over the squares when serving, and you’re sure to impress your dinner guests!

Salads

Another way to eat pears fresh, without baking them with a lot of sugar, is to toss them in with a salad. There are many pear salad recipes, but it seems everyone’s favorite salad companion for pears is balsamic dressing and walnuts. Add some goat cheese on top of that, and you’ve got a gourmet salad. You can even add edible flowers from your garden for an extra pop of color! Be sure the pears you use are ripe; pears that are too hard might clash with the salad’s other textures.

Roasted

If you’re looking for an afternoon snack to accompany your spiced tea, you might want to try roasting pears. Simply halve a pear and bake it in the oven. When it’s nice and soft, serve it on a plate with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a drizzle of honey, and some chopped walnuts. It’s a sweet snack that doesn’t require any additional sugars. You could even serve these as a dessert with vanilla bean ice cream.

Sauteed

Sometimes preheating the oven can be annoying, but there is another way to cook up some pears in a sweet way. Sauteing pears in a bit of butter and cinnamon will fill the house with delicious smells as well as produce a soft and spiced pear that you can serve over ice cream, yogurt, or even just by itself in a bowl.

Poached

While poaching pears isn’t the easiest of tasks, we’re sure you’ll love this recipe by Giada de Laurentiis on Food Network. It uses ingredients like cinnamon sticks, honey, vanilla bean, ginger, and dessert wine to create a complex and mouth-watering dessert. It’s suggested to use firm pears that aren’t too mushy, or else they’ll fall apart while being poached.

Cheese board

Charcuterie boards have become one of the most popular food trends that people are constantly striving to perfect. The best part of these beautiful boards is the flexibility to add or subtract anything you want. Pears are often featured on cheese boards, and we highly recommend them. They’re a great way to take a break from intense cheeses and seasoned crackers.

Slicing pears
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Preserve your pears

Even though the above recipes are sure to use up a lot of your pears, there’s sometimes just no way to use them all up. Of course, sharing them with friends and family is always a great way to spread the joy of fresh pears, but you might still end up with pears you haven’t used. This is where preserving your pears comes in handy.

Canning

The most obvious and popular way to preserve food is by canning. Many of us have probably eaten soft and delicious canned pears that come in fruit juice. You can easily make your own canned pears and enjoy your pears even in the depths of winter. Like the baked and roasted pear options above, it’s best to use pears that aren’t too soft when canning them. Canning means cooking them, and if they’re too soft, they will turn mushy and not hold their shape in the jar.

Dehydrating

While dehydrated pears won’t last as long as canned pears, they will still stay fresh in your pantry for much longer than a fresh pear. If you have a dehydrator, this task is as simple as slicing your pears and putting them in the dehydrator for 10 to 12 hours. If you have to use your oven, the process is precisely the same.

There are so many ways you can cook, bake, toss, slice, pair, and preserve your large pear harvest. We suggest trying out something from every method and sharing as much of them as you can. One of the best parts of producing your own food is sharing the joy with the ones you love.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rebecca Wolken
Rebecca Wolken
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rebecca's has written for Bob Villa and a Cincinnati based remodeling company. When she's not writing about home remodeling…
Can you grow a bird of paradise from a cutting? Here’s what you need to know to grow your dream plant
Tips and tricks for successfully propagating a bird of paradise plant
Bird of paradise plant

Whether they're found in their natural habitats in the wild or as the centerpiece in an indoor garden, bird of paradise are eye-catching and perfect plants for adding some color and tropical flair to your home. This plant is native to South Africa and is well-known for its lush foliage and attractive tropical blooms with vividly colored flowers. The plant gets its name from the stunning flower's resemblance to a colorful bird in flight.

For all its perks, the plant also can be costly to acquire and slow to cultivate from seed. So when you find yourself wanting more than one of these attractive plants, what can you do? Take a cutting and grow a new plant! No matter if you're just starting out with a new cutting from a friend or you're adding to your existing plant's family, you can add more of these plants to your collection easily and at little or no expense.

Read more
How will the summer solstice affect your garden? What you need to know
Everything to know about gardening around the summer solstice
Parent and child having fun by garden

While you may be diving into the ocean during summer vacation season, your flowers will be focusing on something different: how long the daylight lasts. Summer solstice gardening is an important concept when it comes to making sure your plants are growing and blooming on schedule. This is the longest day of the year, the time when your garden will be receiving the most light. Unsure about how this will impact your garden? This simple guide will explain everything!

What is the summer solstice?
The summer solstice, also known as midsummer, is the halfway point of the summer. The solstices, especially summertime, is important for gardeners because of the effect on how their plants flower in their garden. The summer solstice, specifically, is the summer day that has the longest sunlight and shortest night, and plants use the length of the nights to cue the release of hormones for flowering and fruiting.

Read more
Zone 10a planting guide: Here’s what you need to know about what you can plant
Zone 10a plants and their growing schedules
Woman reading book by plants

Consisting of the southernmost parts of the U.S., zone 10a is a rich region for a wide range of plants. While you might need to keep an eye out for your tender herbs and cold-hardy plants, many flowers, succulents, and plants can thrive in zone 10a's warm temperature outdoors. Below, we've put together a zone 10a planting guide to break down all that you need to know about this welcoming environment for nourishing foliage life.

What is a climate zone? 
With the Plant Hardiness Zone Map, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has divided the country into 13 different climate zones based on average annual minimum temperature ranges. Zone 1 has the coolest temperatures, while Zone 13 has the warmest ones.

Read more