Our Maker's Acres Family Farm: Making a Pear Tart

We have two small pear trees. One does not produce any fruit and the other produces only a handful. To supplement the pear production from our trees, Tricia purchased a 20 pound case of organic pears from a Co-op we're members of called Azure Standard. The Bartlett pears came packaged in a box, chilled and in good shape. The pears that grow on our little tree are hard. I call them baking pears, because really, in order to enjoy them, you must bake them in a pie. Not these. They are soft, sweet and delicious just eating them plain. After eating a few, Tricia decided to make a pear tart.

Here are a few of the pears in the fridge waiting for their chance to become dessert...

Bartlett Pears in the Fridge

The recipe came from Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon. The recipe is actually for an Apple Tart, but Tricia substituted pears for apples. We selected 10 nice pears. They were heavy to hold, full of sweetness. We pulled the stems off and got potato peelers out and peeled and cored them. Working together we had this done in no time, saving the cores, seeds and peelings to feed our chickens. A win-win situation for all involved at Our Maker's Acres Family Farm!

10 Pears about to be peeled and cored

Then we cut the pears up into chunks. My wife placed a stick of butter in a skillet and melted it and then sauteed the pear chunks in the butter until they turned a nice golden brown color. She added 1/2 cup of sugar, stirred, and sauteed a few minutes more.

Saute the pear chunks

Now earlier during the day, Tricia had made up a homemade crust and baked it. It was waiting in a shallow pie pan and the sugared, buttery sauteed pears were spooned into the prepared crust.