THEGREAT DIXTER

COOKBOOK

What to Grow and How to Cook it

PEARS

PEARS

I adore pears. At the start of the season in late autumn, they are crunchy and fresh; later they are delectably soft and full of juice that runs down your arm when you eat them. They are wonderful with cheese, in tarts and crumbles, or just simply stewed with a few cloves. I even love pear schnapps. The great thing is that you can store them in the larder or any other cool, dry, dark place to eat throughout the winter when there is so little fresh fruit around. People do not associate Great Dixter with pears, but it is one of the crops that predates the Lloyd family. We still have one tree left that was planted before they came here; its partner, which stood on the front lawn, sadly blew down a couple of winters ago when we had very heavy rain and strong winds. The other trees, planted only about 25 years ago, which is still pretty old by fruit tree standards, are trained as espaliers and line the paths in the High Garden. In the Lloyds’ day this whole area was the vegetable garden – now I have only a quarter of it, thank goodness. These trees are pruned to look pretty rather than to be productive, but they do still give me some fruit. I have also planted some new trees in the vegetable garden, which will replace the old trees when they finally die. Because our trees are espaliered, we prune them in July, cutting back the big new shoots to a spur. This will be next year’s fruiting wood. As well as maintaining the shape of the trees, this process also has the effect of letting in more light to ripen the fruit. If you are really concerned with having perfect fruit from your trees, you would probably spray them – to control aphids, for example, which can affect the growth of young trees. We do not, as we prefer to use as few chemicals as possible in the garden, and in any case view any fruit that is produced as a bonus. I just have to remember to cut the bad bits out of the fruit before I eat it or cook with it. Alternatively, I simply raid Mrs Next-door’s garden, as she always seems to have a wonderful crop. Her trees are younger than ours, and don’t have to compete for nutrients and attention with such a wild array of garden plants.

FAVOURITE VARIETIES

With its large fat fruit, ‘Doyenné du

Comice’ is the king of pears for me.

If I could grow only one variety, this

would be it. As I write, I am longing for

that rich melting flesh and its abundant

juiciness. A bowl of the ripe fruit has

a fragrance that can fill a room. We also

have a beautiful ‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’

trained up the chimney on the west side

of the house. This variety is perfect

for pear tarts.

KEY DATES

Cut back new shoots in mid to late

summer to give the fruit a chance

to ripen, and to remove any damaged

wood. Feed in spring with some fish,

blood and bone meal.

COMMON PROBLEMS

We tend to leave our pear trees to their

own devices, but you can spray young

trees to control aphids, using a systemic

pesticide designed for the purpose.

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PEAR TORTEServes 8

This very useful recipe comes from my friend Lee Hallman. One of the great things about it is that you can use the basic torte recipe with other fruits at different times of the year. I often make a raspberry version in late summer and autumn if friends turn up and I need a quick and easy dessert. All it needs is some thick cream to go with it.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Butter a 20-cm/8-inch springform cake pan and line it with greaseproof (wax) paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs, and beat until smooth. Spoon the batter mixture into the prepared pan and level the surface.

Combine the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Peel the pears, then halve or quarter them and remove the cores. Arrange the fruit domed side up on the batter, then pour over the cinnamon mixture.

Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 1 hour. The torte is ready when a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Remove the pan sides and let cool slightly on a wire rack, then peel off the paper and serve the torte warm with cream.

PREPARATION: 15 minutes

COOKING: 1 hour

120 g/4 oz (1 stick) softened

unsalted butter, plus extra

for greasing

120 g/4 oz (½ cup) granulated

or caster (superfine) sugar

120 g/4 oz (1 cup) plain

(all-purpose) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

2 eggs

double (heavy) cream, to serve

FOR THE TOPPING

juice of ½ lemon

4 tablespoons granulated

or caster (superfine) sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 small ripe pears

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