Pear puree – a very simple recipe

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 50 pear(s)
• 1 can beet syrup

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 4 hours; Total time approx. 1 day 4 hours 20 minutes

Perfect as a cake topping or as jam

A lovely old recipe from the Eifel region, where only dark yeast cakes are served at funerals. These cakes are called “Birrebunnes” (birch buns) and are simply unbeatable. I prefer old pear varieties for this recipe, preferably those that tend to hang on the tree due to their lack of flavor and moisture. The Countess of Paris is a great variety for this very old and very simple recipe, which requires no work; you don’t have to core or peel the pears. Simply wash the pears with their skins on, dry them, and place them on various baking racks (I always put 2-4 racks in the oven, but the more racks you have, the longer they take to dry). Do not remove the stem ends, as this will prevent the pears from leaking out. Place a deep, clean juice bowl lined with parchment paper under all the baking racks in the oven to catch any dripping pear juice. Bake these pears in a convection oven at 150°C for about 4-5 hours, an hour longer is fine too; using an oven timer works very well. They will turn a nice brown and don’t really look that attractive, but anyone who bites into them will quickly be proven wrong: the pears are sweet and wonderfully flavored! Then let the pears cool in the oven overnight; don’t let them dry out, but preserve the moisture. The next day, remove the stems from all the pears and simply process the pears in a food mill like applesauce, mixing with the dark pear juice from the juice bowl. Heat a can of sugar beet syrup (at least 450g, but according to taste) (microwave for about 40 seconds at 650 watts) and stir in. The purée makes a wonderful substitute for jam, or even better, as a coating for yeast cakes.