Pear Heaven

I have a friend named Beaver, who tends to a pear orchard.  A few years ago, in a package of some Hemp goods that we bought from him,  he included a little baggie of some dried pears.    Pears have  always been my favorite tree fruit.  Their sweetness, regardless of which variety I've tried, is such a passionate kiss in every bite.  Trying them dried was like an AHA! moment for me.  It not only affirmed  my Love for this mystical fruit, but it  took that Love to another level.

On my journey to Pear Heaven, I need to let you know that Duncan is a dumpster-diver's paradise... So after getting the dehydrator, I've had a pretty steady supply of dried pears.  On a couple of occasions we've gone dumpstering and have come up with a volume of Pears.

It's amazing what grocery stores will throw away!  Think about it for a second.  We visit 2 stores in Duncan, BC and get a lot of the produce we need.  There is most always more than we can take.... There are thousands of grocers in British Columbia (then extrapolate this to nationally) who, similarly I'm sure,  throw away volumes of (varying degrees of) fresh produce.

Then if one includes foodservice scraps from restaurants, hotels, clubs etc....  Is it any wonder that food costs so much?  And then secondly... How come there are people starving?

While visiting with Sarah on the evening after our massive Pear score, she shared a recipe for Pear butter.  Of course! (i could feel an AHA! moment coming on...).  Her recipe involved a lot of spices and such but we opted for straight Pear.  We washed and cored them, then put them through the Champion juicer into a pot.  They spent the day reducing and when I smelled them this evening (only moments ago, really) it was sniffing bliss!  I could smell the sugars beginning to caramelize.  I can't believe I waited almost an hour from that first sniff until having a taste just now and

O.M.F.G!!!!!!

or whatever other kind of uber-expressive net-emo symbol that would indicate something approaching Nirvana or....

That spoonful of brown mush has got to be the most perfect sweetness that has ever graced this tongue. 

Heaven??? 
if there is such a place,
exists in the taste
of a spoonfull of Pear
reduced over medium-to-low heat
for most of the day....

after all that, i'm reducing it some more.  it's in the oven at about 300.  Can the bliss get better than this?  we'll see.