Finally a harvest. Thirteen years waiting

I had quite given up on a Shipova Ash https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1795 I ordered in 2007 from One Green World in Oregon. It was listed as hardy at minus 30 F and I was populating the new yard with only edible trees, shrubs and vines. I have had some interesting fruits from other specimens ordered from them including Akebia, Honeyberry, Medlar, Quince, Arctic Kiwi but never the Shipova. Last year a paltry 6 small fruit with a phenomenal rose like nose and intensely sweet fruit kept the chain saw at bay. This year it burst forth with hundreds of blossoms, I guess correctly timed for pollination and now fruit bending heavily laden branches. Also fortuitous that I am back in Wisconsin for a caregiving breather able to enjoy the marvel and challenge of using the fruit.
Not much on line recipe wise so I started out making a straight up pear sauce, like you would apple sauce with no sugar or seasonings so as to get some ideas for flavors . Absolutely needed no amendments. Very sweet, floral, unctuous made me immediately think of poaching in Beaumes de Venise. This is a pear that would work in many dessert applications but I generally prefer savory over sweet and am thinking less ripe fruit in a salad with bitter greens- endive or radicchio and walnuts with a champagne vinegar and nut/seed oil. Probably trite but less so with the new fruit.
Any savory ideas for using this delightful fruit ?

Congrats on your patience and on the fruit-that-eventually-comes!

Pears have several good savory uses:
- Think "green papaya salad" but with pears... pear, jicama, scallion, lime, fish sauce, cilantro
- Add to a grilled cheese sandwich or put on a ham and cheese baguette and press it (I do this with figs)
- Swap into any apple-potato gratin
- One of my favorites, Guinea Hen Normande (pears are just as traditional)... viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35520&p=298102#p298102
- You could just go get a nice piece of Roquefort or Stilton
- If you want to cook them, spice them up heavily (cloves, allspice, star anise, black pepper, pink pepper) and serve with pork or beef
- Smoothies.

[Jenise]

What a neat-sounding fruit. But wow the patience required to get it! I'm amazed that you bought it in the first place. Puts a new meaning on 'rare'.

Btw, I don't think that salad idea is trite. It has become common-place but for good reason--pears are a gorgeous textural variation and respond well to the contrast of salt and acidity. Especially, to my mind, if still on the green/crunchy side. I agree with Jeff about using them in grilled cheese sandwiches, especially in the non-cheddar realm like tangy Havarti or richly elegant brie cut free of the rind. For the same reasons pears are frequently used on flatbreads/pizzas, where things like thyme and caraway seed add interest.

Offhand I'm wondering about soups. I use plums marinated lightly with oil and vinegar to top tomato soups. I can see pears used the same way to top a cream of celery root & potato soup. Maybe used with those ingredients in a gratin? I like the sound of that! And I made an ethereal vegetarian pear soup once for pairing with Kabinett-level reislings at a dinner party. Never made it again, but should have. It would require that the pears not be grainy, as many are, though.

What about using them to give a sweet spike to a savory leek and rosemary bread pudding for serving with roast chicken or pork? I've made a gratin that mixes layers of sweet potato and green apple--pear would do well there, too. (Great for the Thanksgiving table.) How about a homemade sausage, like chicken-and-apple sausage, that uses pear instead?

That type of pear takes quite a number of years to bear fruit. I like sliced pears with some good bleu cheese on top and perhaps a drizzle of some kind of syrup or honey.

This is an exquisite pear and when fully ripe has a definite muscat nose and taste with subtle rose overtones. I did the Beaumes de Venise poach which severely intensified the muscat. The Marsala poach was more interesting with more complex flavors. A bit of mascarpone thinned with a tiny bit of syrup and ground mixed peppercorns - black, Sichuan, red was a good contrast
The less ripe pears went into a butternut squash gratin with gorgonzola, cream, garlic chives. A bit too sweet for me. Will try caramelizing onion and adding garlic and sage next time. I much prefer savory to sweet.
Also less ripe,thinly sliced and dressed with that verjus from a few weeks ago was a revelation. I was disappointed with the verjus feeling that it didn't have enough punch but it was perfect for the pears, arugula, walnuts and a creamy gorgonzola dolce.
Thin slices on a sourdough baguette with thin sliced prosciutto and a drizzle of the carmelized juice from pear sauce making was the last iteration.
The tree produced about 60 lbs. Although I've given a lot away I will have enough to process for winter.
I am hoping that next year's crop is as good but will try to do a green harvest so they are larger.
Thanks for the suggestions

Thanks for the report, Christina. It sounds like you had some winners. (I'm fascinated by the peppercorn-tinged mascarpone... hmm....)