50 Things to do with Pears (and Asian Pears!)

If you were on Instagram yesterday, then you may have seen the post I shared about all the Asian Pears I picked from my fruit trees.  Our harvest this year has been amazing, but holy fruit, batman!  There are literally pears for days (maybe even years) here at my house, and I don't quite know what to do with them all.

Being the resourceful gal that I am, I took to social media and asked you amazing Freebs what you would do with a million and one Asian Pears; and boy did you guys deliver!  Your suggestions, and a few things I found Pinterest, were just so good that I had to share all this pearfection (sorry, I couldn't help myself) with you!   Don't have an Asian Pear (or any kinds of pear) tree?  This post is still for you!  Pears are in season right now, so simply go to your local grocery store or orchard, buy a bag full of your favorite pears, and you can join in on the fun too! It's a great way to work pears into your shelf cooking repertoire, all year long.

Okay, let's get on with it…shall we?  I now give you…

50 things to do with pears! (and Asian Pears!)

All of the ideas I'm sharing are pure awesome sauce, but this first one is my favorite.  Especially because it's all about doing some good.

1. Donate some to a local food bank
2. Poached pears
3.  Pie
4. Preserve your pears by canning them
5. Pear sauce-like applesauce, but with pears
6. Pear fruit leather
7. Jam
8. Dehydrated pear slices
9. Pear salad with arugula, feta cheese , walnuts and fried pears
10. Use as a pizza topping paired with caramelized onions and feta cheese
11. Freeze dry them! You can contact your County USU Extension Office to rent a freeze dry machine.  They can also provide you with test recipes for preserves.
12. Make pear juice
13. Pear butter
14. Top pear slices with warmed Brie cheese then drizzle a white apricot balsamic vinegar
15. Pear and honey facial mask
16. Make a fruit stand and let your kids sell them to make a quick buck
17. Gift to neighbors
18. Pear lavender jam
19. Slice and eat on toast
20. Chop and put in pancakes
21. Pear crisp
22. Muffins
23. Do a produce swap with a neighbor, family member, or friend
24. Make baby food
25. Share at a church or community function
26. Add them to smoothies
27. Make a marinade
28. Teacher gift
29. Pear hand pie
30. Edible centerpiece
31. Pear chutney
32. Chop up and eat in oatmeal
33. Add as bread mix-in
34. Grilled pear and cheese sandwich
35. Bleu cheese and asian pear crostinis
36. Asian pear slaw
37. Cinnamon pear cake
38. Pickled pears
39. Pear vinaigrette
40. Pear sorbet
41. Caramel dipped pears
42. Pear cider
43. Baked pears
44. Pear lemonade
45. Pear potato soup
46. Place cards for dinner party
47. Pear candle votives
48. Sugar scrub
49. Soap
50. Pear salsa

There you go! 50 things to with pears (and asian pears). This list seriously couldn't have happened without your help Freebs, so thanks! If you don't see your favorite use for pears in this list, then make sure to share! Also, don't forget to, check out this post I did a few years ago about 100 dinner ideas for busy nights if you are in need of some new recipes. I think you're going to love it!

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