It’s time to rediscover the humble pear | The Tool Shed

It’s time to rediscover the humble pear

We’ve all heard the well known phrase ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, but it’s time to give its relation some special recognition. Recent studies have shown that as well as being a delicious snack, pears have enormous health benefits. Regular intake of dietary fibre is a key factor in reducing our risk of heart disease and type two diabetes and thanks to its combination of both soluble and insoluble fibre the pear offers enhanced fibre content. Pears are also high in vitamin C so now that they are in season and at their best be sure to add them to your diet this autumn.

A little information about their origins

It is believed that pears were first cultivated around 1000 BC in the Caucasus region before spreading to Europe then Asia. It is likely that pears were cultivated in Britain during the Roman occupation but the production of the fruit was slow to develop however by 1640 at least 64 varieties were being cultivated in England. The majority of pears continued to be used for cooking until early in the 19th century the renowned horticulturist Thomas Andrew Knight began to develop pear varieties. The Royal Horticultural Society encouraged pear growing and in 1826 there were 622 varieties in their gardens at Chiswick. 1894 saw the introduction of the conference pear and together with Comice it quickly overshadowed all other pear varieties. Throughout the second half of the 20th century both the sales and production of Comice declined whilst Conference increased in popularity and today this variety represents more than 90% of UK commercial production.

Versatile

What do we love the most about pears here at Sous Vide Tools? Their versatility! Add them to salads and cheese boards, poach them, use them with chocolate to make a stunning dessert, use their juice for jellies and jams or just simply enjoy on their own. The sky really is the limit when it comes to pears. We’ve discovered that they are ideal for Sous Vide cooking too. Just take a look at this simple recipe:

Lavender Poached Pears with Blue Cheese, Yoghurt and Walnut Praline

How to select the best

It is always best to buy pears whilst they are under ripe then allow them to ripen at home. Pears should be firm but not hard and will yield to gentle pressure at the stem when ripe. If using pears for cooking we’d recommend choosing those that are slightly firmer.

Post by Chris Holland

Our Chef Director Chris Holland worked as Head Chef at the prestigious Alderley Edge hotel before joining us. He has a passion for using the best produce and never compromises on quality. Author of our best selling book Sous Vide The Art of Precision Cooking, Chris is a expert on the sous vide technique.During the later part of my school days at Wardle High School Rochdale I always wanted to be a chef . I knew from the very start that my path to work was never going to be academic it was always going to be something practical and hands on.

As a young boy growing up I was inspired to cook with my Grandma who was and still is an inspiration to me . I have memories of helping make the cakes that she always had made for visitors and family alike . She made the most amazing cakes and I loved nothing more than eating the sweet raw cake batter straight from the bowl . We used to fight over who got to lick the bowl/spoon after the cakes were made. My grandma’s philosophy for cooking even on a shoe string budget was always to use fresh and seasonal ingredients either home grown or bought from the market.

School was somewhat of a drag for me as I was itching to learn to become a chef.

I started at Hopwood Hall college as a chef and instantly fell in love with it .To me it was the only real time I excelled in something and this inspired me to really get my head down and put in the hard work. College was the first time I really excelled in something and gave me the opportunity to laugh at the teachers who said I would never make something of my life!!!!

During the three years at college I also took on a part time position in a local hotel working the bar and restaurant first and then the kitchen. These were great days and gave me the opportunity to see how the industry ticks. I learnt a lot from those days both good and bad !! But I have to say I was itching to work only in the kitchen but it was a good insight into the catering world .

After completing college I moved away from Rochdale for a full time roll at one of Cheshire’s most talked about Hotel restaurants The Stanneylands Hotel. This was the school of hard knocks for me as I quickly realised that although excelling at college meant nothing in “The Real World”.

I loved every minute of the 18 hour days 6 days a week on minimum wage . Although difficult I feel that without this grounding I wouldn’t have achieved what I have today. After 18 months of hard graft I left Stanneylands and went with the Head chef to open a fine dining restaurant at Mere Golf and Country Club. The opportunity to work alongside Matthew Barrett was too good to turn down. I learnt so much from the ex-Ritz chef and working in a much slower paced role helped me develop a much better understanding of how to organise and run a kitchen. We were a very small team and teamwork was and still is the only way to go for me.

After 2 years at Mere I got the opportunity to go into The Alderley Edge Hotel as Junior Souschef. The Early days at the Edge were all about learning new styles of cuising which is invaluable in any role as a chef. I got the opportunity to grow and learn all aspects of every section which was inspiring . I was offered the opportunity at the age of 29 (2004) to take the role of head chef. For me this was when I really started to develop my own style of food.

After 9 years at the top winning Cheshire restaurant of the year , Chef of the Year and appearing on GBM amongst many highlights including cooking for many celebrities and famous people I decided to move on into development with Sousvidetools.

The main inspiration for this was to train and educate people . I always had a great passion for education but could never really see myself at a college . The job is super rewarding and I am proud to say we have become the leading light in sous-vide education in the UK . This is something I am very proud of . Food is my biggest passion and this is what keeps me interested the most . I love to travel and try out other countries cuisines. I am constantly inspired by ingredients and the pursuit of getting the best out of them without destroying their natural flavour .It is super important to me to continue to try and be at the forefront of the food scene this is what inspire me and the team to keep driving forward .

Technology is now widely used in the industry and I am super proud to say we have been a big part of spreading that message.

I am very lucky to be in the position I am and the drive to constantly improve our training and links to the next generation of young budding hospitality chefs.

TI feel that my experience over the last 25 years really enables me to get close and educate the “next generation” of chefs .

The industry which I love is really struggling to bring through new recruits and if I can help that process I will be immensely proud.

The food seen in the Uk has improved dramatically over the last ten years and I feel this will continue with the correct education. What happens next only fate will tell us...

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