PEAR GROWING IN CALIFORNIA. 399 



COOKING DRIED PEARS. 



Dried pears have not yet become popular in this country and it 

 has been necessary to depend on a European market. Like other dried 

 fruits they must be cooked properly to bring out the flavor. With 

 proper cooking there is no more delicious dried fruit than pears. The 

 following recipe* is worthy of trial by every housewife who discounts 

 the value of this delicious fruit. 



"Wash the fruit clean and simmer for half an hour. By that time 

 the pears will have swollen to almost original size, but will not 

 have softened so as to fall to pieces. If you keep them stewing they 

 will become too soft. Take the pears out; lay them in a shallow dish 

 or pan, strain the water back over them, sprinkle them with sugar, 

 flavor if you wish with spice to taste, and bake fifteen minutes. They 

 will come out of the oven nicely baked, with the sugar crystallized 

 on the surface. Serve with cream and you have a dish that everybody 

 enjoys. Dried pears, according to analysis, are one of the most nutri- 

 tious of fruits, and at the same price per pound have a greater food 

 value than dried apples." 



*Article by Frank T. Swott on "Dried Pears and Other Things," Monthly Bulletin, 

 Vol. VI, No. 5, page 127. 



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