Smith Berry Barn

fresh pears

Ginger Pear Butter

October 10, 2020
Ginger Pear Butter
Print Recipe
This mellow, sweet sauce is simmered in a slow cooker and gently spiced with fresh ginger. Special tools required: slow cooker and immersion blender
Servings Prep Time
6 half pints 30 minutes
Cook Time
12 hours
Servings Prep Time
6 half pints 30 minutes
Cook Time
12 hours
Ginger Pear Butter
Print Recipe
This mellow, sweet sauce is simmered in a slow cooker and gently spiced with fresh ginger. Special tools required: slow cooker and immersion blender
Servings Prep Time
6 half pints 30 minutes
Cook Time
12 hours
Servings Prep Time
6 half pints 30 minutes
Cook Time
12 hours
Ingredients
  • 6 lbs fresh pears (peeled, sliced and cored)
  • 1 piece fresh ginger (thumb-sized) (peeled, cut into 1/4" pieces)
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ea juice of one lemon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup water
Servings: half pints
Instructions
  1. Peel, slice and core the pears and place in slow cooker.
  2. Add all remaining ingredients to slow cooker.
  3. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Feel free to stir occasionally during this time.
  4. Once pears have simmered and softened for desired cooking time, puree the pears using a hand immersion blender.
  5. Re-set your slow cooker to high and cook for 2-4 hours, or until pear sauce cooks down to a thicker consistency. Stir occasionally during this step.
  6. Once your pear butter has reached the desired consistency, it can be refrigerated for several weeks or preserved into canning jars for up to 1 year (see directions below).
Recipe Notes

Pear Butter can be preserved using the Ball Canning Method:

  1. Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.
  2. Ladle hot pear butter into a hot jar leaving a 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
  3. Process jars 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat; remove lid, let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 12 hours. Lid should not flex when center is pressed.

Spiced Wine Poached Pears

November 18, 2017
Spiced Wine Poached Pears
Print Recipe
Our Comice pears are perfect for this amazingly simple, yet 'fancy' dessert. Comice pears are delicious on their own, but when poached in this simple wine sauce, they rise to a whole new level!
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Spiced Wine Poached Pears
Print Recipe
Our Comice pears are perfect for this amazingly simple, yet 'fancy' dessert. Comice pears are delicious on their own, but when poached in this simple wine sauce, they rise to a whole new level!
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 servings 20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Ingredients
  • 4 whole fresh pears (peeled, stem on)
  • 2 1/2 cups red wine
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs mulling spices (Smith Berry Barn)
Servings: servings
Instructions
  1. Peel pears with paring knife, leaving the stem on the pear. Slice a small section off bottom to help the pear stand upright.
  2. Place red wine, water, brown sugar and mulling spices in sauce pan large enough to hold 4 pears. Add pears and make sure they're completely covered with liquid. If not, add a bit more wine and water to cover.
  3. Bring liquid just to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Allow pears to simmer in wine sauce until softened all the way through, approximately 25-30 minutes. A toothpick can be inserted into the pear to test for doneness.
  4. Remove pears from simmering liquid and place on a plate to drain and cool slightly.
  5. Bring wine sauce back to a boil and allow to gently boil for 15-20 minutes until reduced to a syrup consistency. Pour syrup through strainer to strain out spices.
  6. Place each pear in an individual serving dish. Pour syrup over pears. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and add a bit more syrup. Enjoy!

Winter Squash Soup

October 12, 2016
Course
Winter Squash Soup
Print Recipe
We serve this hearty soup at our annual Heirloom Apple Festival and it gets rave reviews! Use any type of winter squash you would like, just vary the quantity, depending on the size of the squash.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Winter Squash Soup
Print Recipe
We serve this hearty soup at our annual Heirloom Apple Festival and it gets rave reviews! Use any type of winter squash you would like, just vary the quantity, depending on the size of the squash.
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Servings Prep Time
8 servings 1 hour
Cook Time Passive Time
1.5 hours 1 hour
Ingredients
For the Squash
  • 4 each acorn squash (or 2 medium butternut or 1 hubbard or other large squash)
  • 2 each fresh pears (peeled, cored and quartered)
  • 1 each sweet onion (quartered)
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Soup
  • 4 cups chicken broth (sub vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
  • 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
  • 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
For the Finish
  • 1-1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • fresh ground pepper (liberal or to taste)
  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Servings: servings
Instructions
To prepare squash
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cut squash in half, scoop out seeds and place in 9"x13" baking dish with cut-side facing up. You may need more than one baking dish depending on the size of your squash. See notes below.
  3. Place onions and pears around squash, filling all the spaces in the baking dish.
  4. Drizzle with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Bake in oven approximately 45 minutes, or until fork-tender.
  6. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough that you can handle the squash. Scoop the flesh of the squash, discarding the skins.
  7. Place all ingredients from baking dish(es) into large stockpot and proceed with making the soup.
To prepare soup
  1. Add all remaining ingredients to stock pot with the squash mixture.
  2. Heat on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture begins to bubble.
  3. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
  4. Remove soup from heat and puree the soup using an immersion blender. Puree until smooth (you may have a few onion pieces that won't puree...that's fine!)
To finish soup
  1. Add the heavy whipping cream, salt and liberal grindings of fresh pepper and stir to combine.
  2. Taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.
Recipe Notes

We find that because of the varying sizes in squash, it's sometimes necessary to use more than one baking dish to roast the squash. ??Your baking dishes should be full but not too full, so if necessary, place ingredients into two dishes and place them side by side in your oven.

Also, the seasonings may need adjusting, due to the variations in the squash. ??Simply taste your soup and add more of each of the seasonings to taste. ??This soup comes out a little different each time we make it, but it's very forgiving!

Enjoy this soup with a crusty loaf of bread and a salad as a complete meal...or serve as an appetizer in small mugs at a holiday gathering.

If you end up with too much soup, place remaining soup in freezer containers and freeze for a later date! ??Enjoy!