Ode to Pears

"Now, Sire," quod she, "for aught that may bityde,
I moste haue of the peres that I see,
Or I moote dye, so soore longeth me
To eten of the smalle peres grene."
- Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
(l. 14,669), The Merchant's Tale

“The jelly - the jam and the marmalade,
And the cherry-and quince-"preserves" she made!
And the sweet-sour pickles of peach and pear,
With cinnamon in 'em, and all things rare!
And the more we ate was the more to spare,
Out to old Aunt Mary's! Ah!”
- James Whitcomb Riley

You get so weak from eating pears that you fall down,
and then they come and take you away on a stretcher.
- Oliver Reed

Pears cannot ripen alone. So we ripened together.
- Meridel Le Sueur

"Pears are mostly enjoyed out of hands, but they can be poached in red or white wine, or syrup, made to compote, canned, dried, baked, flamed, pressed and fermented for pear wine, and pressed fermented and distilled for Poire Williams or pear eau de vie. Cheese and pear are created for each other. Roquefort or Gloucester and pear is an excellent combination. Pear Helene, vanilla ice cream on a poached pear covered with chocolate sauce is a dessert for gourmets everywhere."
- foodreference.com

And what did I do with these lovely pears, the first true crop from our young orchard? I adapted this German Apple Puff Pancake recipe, and the results were pure heaven.

What I did... peeled, cored, and sliced about 8 of the pears (they are very small) and set them aside in a bowl. Then tossed them with a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Put my 12" cast iron skillet with a 4 tablespoon pat of butter in it into the oven, then preheated to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine 6 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.

Remove hot pan with melted butter from the oven. Dump the sliced pears into the bottom of the pan, then pour the batter over the top.

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Oh, man... YUMMMMM.