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LAKE COUNTY, Calif .– You could say pears are the gold of Lake County.
There is no time this is more evident than in September, when the Lake County Bartletts appear almost everywhere and (in non-pandemic years) there is a festival in the county to celebrate the harvest. My heart swells a little when I see advertisements from out-of-county markets touting the wonders of Lake County pears.
In other words, as fall approaches, it’s the sweet pear-cider in Lake County.
Many varieties of pears are grown here (among others, the butter and sweet Comice and the popular dessert pear, Bosc), but it was the Bartlett that helped us achieve fame in pear cultivation.
The stories of our county and this pear have intertwined over the last century and more, with the result of this synergy a mutually beneficial agricultural tapestry that continues today.
Although there are fewer pear orchards here today than a few decades ago, Lake County still produces a respectable crop as one of the largest suppliers of premium pears to the United States. United.
Most of the county’s farmers were growing grain in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when a few farmers planted pear orchards. Over time, pears became the crop of choice due to the higher profit margin they offered.
Lake County apples and pears – and most notably the Bartlett pear – attracted a lot of attention at the New Orleans World’s Fair of 1885, which led to the birth of an industry.
Lake County’s Bartlett dried pears, known to be the best in the world, were called “gold plates” and were extremely popular in Europe. Most were exported there until the market collapsed in the early 1920s.
Producers then began to pack pears for the fresh market, and by the late 1920s the industry was booming. Since then, the pear market has increased and decreased, with the destruction and replanting of orchards according to the needs of the crop.
A peak of almost 8,000 acres was reached in 1976, but since that time Lake County has lost about 50% of that area to other agricultural uses, as well as the majority of its packaging plants.
The industry survives, however, and pears are still an integral part of who we are. “Mountain pears,” as Lake County pears are called, are particularly popular because of the taste produced by warm days and relatively cool nights before harvest.
Thousands of people have gathered at the Kelseyville Pear Festival in recent years, many from outside the county, to celebrate this golden harvest.
Although, like last year, the festival was canceled due to pandemic concerns, some celebratory activities still took place in Kelseyville last week (dubbed Pear Week), including a farm-to-farm dinner. fork and a street dance on Friday evening and the pear parade on Saturday morning. For creative cooks, the competition for the most beautiful original pear dessert was still ongoing.
Pears, along with their parents, apple and quince, are part of the rose family. Considering their delicately fragrant and slightly floral taste, this is not surprising.
One of the earliest writings on pears comes from Homer, who called them “gifts from the gods”.
While apples are warm and familiar, their close pears are sophisticated. Really, recipes with pears at their center are particularly elegant, even ones that are purposely rustic, like some pear pies and pear soups.
A diversity of flavors and textures among the different pear varieties allows for an endless (and delicious) range of wine and cheese pairings. Finding complementary matches is a delicious art – like pear poetry, if you will.
They were a popular fruit in the ancient world, especially prized by the Persians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans.
Wild pears have been growing in Europe and Asia since prehistoric times, and their cultivation in these places dates back at least 3,000 years. There are now thousands of pear varieties in the world, with some experts putting the number at 5,000.
None are from America, however. Like the apple, the first American pears were grown from seed (which was brought from England to Massachusetts in 1629), so they did not reproduce faithfully to the variety. As a result, American pears have become more diverse than their European ancestors.
Pears are high in vitamin C, have a healthy dose of vitamin K, and lots of fiber. Because the vitamins are close to the skin, pears are therefore more nutritionally beneficial when eaten with the skin intact. Vitamins are at their peak when pears are fully ripe.
Pears can be ripened at room temperature or in a paper bag to speed up the process. Once ripe, enjoy their delicious flavor immediately or store them in the refrigerator. They need a lot of air circulation to keep them from quickly degrading there, so storing them in plastic bags or in tight spaces is not recommended.
Today’s recipe is for chutney, a perhaps unusual but tasty way to use the pears which are in abundance now.
The secret of chutney is to create a balance of flavors, a perfect blend of sweet, spicy and tangy, without dominance. Despite the long list of ingredients needed to achieve this, chutney is fairly straightforward to prepare.
This chutney can be served in different ways: on goat cheese on crackers as an appetizer, with chicken, pork or smoked meats (try it in a sandwich!)
The recipe calls for nutmeg used in my favorite way, grated whole nut if needed. Ground nutmeg in a jar can be substituted, of course – use ¼ teaspoon at first and add more (sparingly) as needed to add a hot spicy note.
Pear chutney
2 pears, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces (about 2 to 2 ½ cups)
1 medium shallot, peeled and finely diced
½ inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
½ cup diced dried pineapple
1 tablespoon lemon zest (on about 1 ½ lemon)
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 ½ lemons)
¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of light brown sugar
¼ cup finely chopped green onions, green and white parts (about 1 to 2 shallots)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (leaves of about 20 sprigs)
Freshly grated nutmeg, about ½ a nut
½ teaspoon of salt
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté shallots, ginger and garlic until tender and fragrant, about three to five minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the pears are tender but not soft.
Cool to room temperature if using it immediately or transfer to a glass jar to store in the refrigerator.
Chutney can be made a day or two ahead of time and refrigerated. It must be brought to room temperature before use.
This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups.
Recipe by Esther Oertel.
Esther Oertel is a passionate writer and cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she started creating recipes from a young age. She has taught cooking classes at various locations in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently, she taught cooking classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown, California.
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