Introducing Organic Starkrimson Pears

by Dorothy Reinhold on September 8, 2012

What’s your favorite pear? The common Bartlett? The crisp Bosc? How about the Comice, or Forelle or Seckle?

My new favorite might just be the Starkrimson Pear. Sweet, super juicy when ripe and flat-out gorgeous with a deep red skin and yellow flesh, these are going to stand out from among the sea of green pears flooding the fall markets.

They are similar to a Red Barlett and are good either eaten out of hand or used in cooking. This pear is very pretty sliced into a salad or on an appetizer cheese plate. See a few other suggestions below for ways to use them.

Ripe: It should have a little “give'” when you handle it, which means the sugars are emerging.

Storage: Store at room temperature, then slightly chill in refrigerator for 4 hours for best eating.

These beauties, which were introduced commercially nearly a decade ago but haven’t had their due fame yet, are in season from September through November. They come from Oregon in Sept./Oct., and the state of Washington in Oct./Nov. They cost about $2.99 a pound.

Suggestions for use

Eat it over the sink. Yesssss!

2. Slice and insert in this gooey Panino with Brie and Pears

3. Bake this easy, delicious Pear Tart (Cake)

4. Create lunch with this Turkey Salad with Pear and Celery (sub chicken if you don’t have turkey)

5. Saute pear slices in a skillet with a little butter and cinnamon, and serve with grilled sausage and mashed potatoes for dinner.

6. Slice into a big green salad. Add blue cheese crumbles, red onion slivers, toasted pecans or walnuts and call it dinner!

7. Slice onto an appetizer cheese platter. The color contrasts nicely with the cheese.

Thanks to Melissa’s Produce for sending over a sample of this fruit for testing.

Tagged as: fruit, Melissa's Produce, pear, pears, red pear, Starkrimson Pears

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Anon September 20, 2012 at 9:04 am

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice each pear vertically against the core into four large pieces. Slice each piece vertically again, this time into quarter-inch slices. Place the slices in a single layer on a greased baking sheet and roast until soft and the bottoms are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Do not move them while they roast to ensure that they caramelize properly.Meanwhile, cut the bread into 24 quarter-inch slices and lay them on another baking sheet. Then cut enough thin slices of Grana Padano to cover the surface of each crostini.When the pears are done, cool them enough to handle. Assemble the crostini by topping each slice of bread first with cheese and then two pears in an X pattern. Broil the crostini on low until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve them immediately with a generous grinding of fresh pepper.

Robert September 10, 2012 at 7:27 am