Pressed Pears of Touraine
Peeled pears, gently dried in the oven and then flattened: they become soft, concentrated in sugar, and keep for months. Rehydrate them in wine or crunch them as is on the road.
Peeled pears, gently dried in the oven and then flattened: they become soft, concentrated in sugar, and keep for months. Rehydrate them in wine or crunch them as is on the road.
You who travel, slip a few pressed pears from my dear Touraine country into your pocket! They are dried in the baker's oven, flattened, and become soft and brown like fruit caramel. At Saché, when I walked along the Indre pondering a chapter, I would crunch one and the whole Loire orchard came back on my tongue. It is the poor traveler's confectionery: light, sweet, and never spoils.
- •Firm Touraine pears (cooking varieties) — a basketful (fruit to dry)
- •Loire wine (optional, for rehydrating) — a glass (serving)
Pressed Pears of Touraine
Peeled pears, gently dried in the oven and then flattened: they become soft, concentrated in sugar, and keep for months. Rehydrate them in wine or crunch them as is on the road.
Why this dish? Balzac's Touraine, which he lovingly describes in *Le Lys dans la vallée* and at the Château de Saché where he came to write, is an orchard of the Loire. Pears were dried and flattened to preserve and travel — the sweetness of the Loire banks carried in a pocket.
You who travel, slip a few pressed pears from my dear Touraine country into your pocket! They are dried in the baker's oven, flattened, and become soft and brown like fruit caramel. At Saché, when I walked along the Indre pondering a chapter, I would crunch one and the whole Loire orchard came back on my tongue. It is the poor traveler's confectionery: light, sweet, and never spoils.
Ingredients (period version)
- Firm Touraine pears (cooking varieties) — a basketful (fruit to dry)
- Loire wine (optional, for rehydrating) — a glass (serving)
Ingredients
- Firm pears (e.g., Comice or Conference, not too ripe) — 6 (fruit to dry)
- Light white or red Loire wine — 25 cl (optional) (rehydration)
- Honey — 1 tbsp (optional) (serving)
Method
- Peel the pears, leaving them whole (or cut them in half).
- Place them on a rack and dry in a very low oven (80–90°C) for 5 to 6 hours, with the door slightly ajar.
- Halfway through, gently flatten them with the back of a plate to "press" them.
- Continue drying until they are supple and brown. Store in an airtight container.
- To serve, eat them as is, or rehydrate them for a few minutes in warm wine, optionally sweetened with honey.
How it was made : The pressed pear is an ancient specialty of Touraine (notably from Rivarennes): pears were dried in the cooling bread oven, then flattened to expel air and moisture, allowing them to be preserved and transported for months.
The contemporary twist : Serve them rehydrated in Loire wine with a quenelle of cream as a "writer's dessert", or as a dried snack in a paper cone.
Sources : Honoré de Balzac, Le Lys dans la vallée (1836)
Honoré de Balzac · Charactorium