Thankful for Pears 🍐

A Pear & Cranberry Relish, Perfect for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just one week away 🫡

While cranberries are a traditional side this year I’m dropping a relish recipe for you to try that has pear 🍐 as the main star and the cranberry in a supporting role.

This makes a lot of sense. You may have heard an old kitchen saying that “what grows together, goes together”. The premise being that an easy way to start pairing ingredients is to check what is growing at the same time.

One of the reasons that I’m a big fan of seasonal cooking is not just for variety. It is true that if you cook seasonally you will be changing ingredients every 3 months or so which means you should never be getting bored cooking. Add to the that, the saying above makes an easy generalization for pairing ingredients together that taste good.

In this case: Fall, pears, cranberry… ✅

It’s no secret, if you were here last year, that I love pears.

The chestnut soup may be one of the most underrated recipe drops I’ve done so far; part of what made it is the pear garnish that finished the dish… gilding the lily, so to speak 😉

My nostalgia for pears goes back to my childhood; canned pears so to speak

BowTiedOctopod | Culinary Chad @BowTiedOctopod

Pears 🍐 are magic My memories of pears 🍐 growing up were canned pears on cottage cheese/yogurt/or served with ham Before you hate on canned pears; keep in mind these are picked at peak, so oftentimes better than what you can find Unless you want a home-canning 🍐 🧵? Lmk 👀

Pears 101 🍐

What makes pears particularly magical for me is their distinct perfume and aroma when at peak ripeness. Truly one-of-a-kind.

The problem is that good 🍐 can be difficult to find.

There are 1000’s of pear varietals worldwide but the 10 you will most likely encounter are

Anjou

Asian

Bartlett

Bosc

Comice

Concord

Forelle

French Butter

Seckel

Taylor’s Gold

Image from Pear USA

I’ll be dropping a delicious pear 🍐 dessert after Thanksgiving and at that point will cover more about picking, storing, ripening… so keep an eye out for that in the near future.

Here’s an old family recipe for a Pear & Cranberry Relish that is perfect with roast turkey at Thanksgiving.

This can also be made in bulk, jarred and canned to have in your pantry year round. In addition to turkey this relish would be perfect on cheese/charcuterie boards, roast pork and chicken; making this is an extremely versatile condiment.

Cranberry-Pear Relish Recipe

*Notes:

-You can scale this recipe 2x if you want to jar, can and have on hand for a while.

-The most time consuming part is the chopping. “Finely chopped” could be 1/2 inch dice, but by all means you can do a bugger dice for a chunkier relish. Up to you (may extend cooking time slightly).

-Do the pears last so they don’t start oxidizing; then peel, core and chop one at a time (ideally, but not mandatory), adding into the sauce pot 1-by-1.

-Finally, I had tiny pears so that’s why you see more than 6 listed. No worries, just follow the recipe below using “standard” size pears.

Ingredients

6 Pears (Anjou or Bosc work well; Comice as long as they aren’t overripe)

3 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (905g)

2 Red bell peppers, finely chopped (190g)

2 Green bell peppers, finely chopped (190g) 

1 Small chili (jalapeño) 40g 

3TB Mustard (I used Dijon)

10 Cloves, whole

1/8 tsp Ground Allspice

1 TB Sea Salt

1 c White Sugar

3/4 c apple cider vinegar

1/2-3/4 c dried cranberries

METHOD

1. Finely chop your onion, bell peppers and chili. (Seed and de-rib the jalapeno for 0 spice. If you want a “hint” of zing, use a serrano with seeds and ribs included)

   

2. Add the chopped vegetables to a saucepot (at least 4qt). Then add all the remaining ingredients (except the pears). Place over medium heat and bring to a low simmer.

3. *Note: you may be thinking “there isn’t enough liquid”. Fear not. All the vegetables will release plenty of liquid while you prep the pears to add.

4. For the pears. Peel, remove the stem and base end, core… then finely chop.

   

   

   

5. For an alternative, you can peel the pears and run each side on a box grater until reaching the core. It will effect the texture, but it’s up to you. I did a mix of both! 😉 2/3 diced, 1/3 grated.

   

6. After each pear is processed add it to the simmering liquid, until all the pears are processed.

   

7. Cook for 20-30 mins until all the vegetables and pears and softened… don’t let them go to “mush”, you want some texture.

   

8. *I added the cranberries at the end but you can include up front, with the other vegetables.

   

9. Once done, taste the relish. It should be highly seasoned, sweet and tangy..

   

10. Allow to cool to room temp. Then store in the fridge. Bring to room temp, or just below, before serving.

11. *To preserve: Take the hot relish and pack sterilized jars. Cap and cook in a water bath, to cover by 1-1.5 inches of water, for 8-10 mins. Remove and allow to cool, making sure the jars have sealed

So this is the first year I’ve paired this roast turkey, even though it’s an old family recipe… and it’s an absolute winner.

Give this a shot, you can make well in advance and have ready on hand. Stay tuned for the next drop on Saturday… a wonderful beet side dish perfect for Thanksgiving.

Until Next Time. 🥂