The Pear Farmer’s Kitchen Recipes and Stories from Annala Orchards

Annala Orchards is my husband Herbie’s fourth-generation pear farm in Hood River, Oregon. This book is an invitation into that orchard, and into our kitchen, where pears show up all year long.
 
It isn’t a book about every pear out there. It’s about the five we grow: Bartlett, Anjou, Red Anjou, Bosc and Gem. You’ll learn where each one came from, how to tell when it’s ripe, and how to ripen it on your own counter.
 
The recipes come in five collections:
Fresh: a fresh pear salad, a pear and cheese pairing guide, and simple ways to enjoy a ripe pear
Preserved: canned pear halves, pear jam, pear butter and dried pear slices, with a one-page water bath canning guide. Every canning recipe is a tested recipe, and the source is cited.
Savory: pear pizza, pear pumpkin bisque and a savory galette
Sweet: pear olive oil cake, pear scones, honey baked pears, pear curd tart and more
Cocktails: pear simple syrup, a Pear Whiskey Sour, a Pear Mule and The Orchard Spritz
 
Many recipes start with Herb’s Harvest, our family’s own canned pears, so you can cook with pears in any month. When fresh pears are in season, each recipe tells you how to swap them in, with notes on moisture, peeling and coring, and bake time.
 
Between the recipes are stories from life on the farm, from growing up in the orchard to why pears matter to us. Thank you for choosing pears.
 
Local pickup begins November 20th — just in time for holiday baking. Shipped copies will go out November 20th.