Pears With Damsons -

Pears With Damsons

Ingredients

8 ripe dessert pears
½ lb damsons, or 1 lb damson cheese
8 oz granulated sugar
¾ pint water
1 vanilla pod
¼ pint double cream (to decorate)

Method

Put the sugar in a pan with the water and vanilla pod and dissolve over gentle heat, then boil steadily for 5 minutes to make 1 pint sugar syrup. Re­move vanilla pod.

Peel the pears and remove the core from the flower end with the point of a potato peeler but keep on stalks. Poach pears in the syrup for 15 minutes.

Watchpoint: Do not decrease this time even if the pears are ripe as they must be soaked with syrup to prevent them dis­colouring when cool. Drain the pears from the syrup, put them in a dish and leave to cool.

Wash and stone the damsons, put them in the pan of syrup and simmer gently until they are tender. Turn into a strainer and allow to drain, then rub the damsons (now pulpy) through strainer. Dilute with a little of the syrup to give a good coating consistency. Chill well. Strain this purée over the pears. Whip the cream stiffly and pipe a thick ruff around edge of the dish.

Related food category:

• Fresh Fruit Dessert