Want an easy taste adventure? Substitute ripe fresh or canned pears in any recipe that calls for apples: baked crisps, salads, even applesauce or baked apples. With a little citrus juice, fresh pears won’t discolor.
Like apples, pears pack plenty of goodness. Peel on, a medium pear delivers just 100 calories and about 4 grams of dietary fiber. About half is cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber. They have some vitamin C and potassium, too. And their antioxidants, called catechins (a flavonoid), may help protect you from cancer.
Try pears in a spinach salad, a pear-cranberry smoothie, or on a turkey sandwich.
Pear Mincemeat Bars
- 3⁄4 cup butter or margarine
- 3⁄4 cup softened, packed brown sugar
- 11⁄2 cups flour
- 11⁄4 cups quick rolled oats
- 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Anjou pears, cored and chopped
- 1 cup prepared mincemeat
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugar. Stir in flour, oats, walnuts, salt, and baking soda until mixture is crumbly. Press 2/3 of crumb mixture into a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan. Combine pears, mincemeat, lemon juice, and peel; spread over crumb crust. Top with remaining crumb mixture; pat lightly. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until crust is golden. Makes 48 bars.
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