Old-Fashioned Pear and Pecan Salad

Pear and Pecan Salad on plate

Most of the time when I make recipes for this blog, I select recipes that sound good to me. I don’t generally go for the ones that are very dated and seem strange – but occasionally I’ve intrigued enough by an old recipe that just doesn’t sound like I’d like it, to give it a try. Today is one of those days. I came across a recipe for Pear and Pecan Salad that called for putting chopped pecans on top of canned pear halves (good so far), but then the recipe called for topping it with mayonnaise –and it lost me. But . . . The recipe sounded very easy to make, and I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, so I decided to proceed.

The verdict: I was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. The sweetness of the pears, the crunchiness of the nuts, and the creaminess of the mayonnaise worked well together to create a nice taste sensation.

Here’s the original recipe:

Recipe for Pear and Pecan Salad — Source: The Calorie Cook Book by Mary Dickerson Donahey (1923)

When I made this recipe I went with the main topping alternative – mayonnaise, and did not try the other options. I also thought that 3 heaping teaspoons (a heaping tablespoon!) of mayonnaise on top of each pear half seemed like a lot, so I reduced the amount to 2 teaspoons per pear half.

And, here’s the recipe updated for modern cooks:

Pear and Pecan Salad

Servings: 2
Time: 5 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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2 halves of canned pears

2 tablespoons pecans, finely chopped

4 teaspoons mayonnaise

lettuce

Arrange lettuce leaves on two salad plates. Place a pear half on top of the lettuce on each plate. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans, then top each pear half with about 2 teaspoons of mayonnaise.

http://www.ahundredyearsago.com

Hundred-year-old Porcupine Salad Recipe

I have warm memories of making Raggedy Ann Salad and other character-shaped salads using canned fruits when I was a child, so I was thrilled to see a recipe for Porcupine Salad in a hundred-year-old cookbook.

Porcupine Salad was fun and easy to make, and it turned out beautifully. Almond slices are inserted into a canned pear half, and whole cloves are used to make the eyes.

Here’s the original recipe:

Source: The Housewife’s Cook Book by Lilia Frich (1917)

When I made the recipe I didn’t serve it on a lettuce leaf, and I skipped the fruit salad dressing, but they could be added if desired. I found this recipe in the same cookbook that contained the Fruit Salad Dressing Made with Honey that I made last week, so that dressing could be used to replicate the original recipe’s serving suggestion.

Porcupine Salad

Servings: 1
Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: easy
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For each serving:

1 canned pear half

sliced almonds

2 whole cloves

Insert the almond slices into the larger part of the pear half, then stick the two cloves into the small end for the eyes.

Old-fashioned Fall Fruit Compote Recipe

19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Tuesday, November 10, 1914: <<no entry>>

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since Grandma didn’t write anything a hundred years ago today, I t thought you might enjoy an old compote recipe that uses Fall fruits.

Old-Fashioned Fall Fruit Compote

3 pears

3 apples

3/4 cup raisins

1 1/2 cup cider

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Core pears and apples (but do not peel); then cut into 1-inch cubes. Combine cubed pears and apples, raisins, cider, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar in large saucepan. Bring to a boil using medium heat. Reduce heat and cook for another 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat; drain using a colander, saving save the liquid. Combine the reserved liquid with the cornstarch; and return to saucepan. Using medium heat, reheat while stirring constantly until the liquid thickens. Remove from heat, and combine with the cooked fruit. Cool and serve.

Makes 4-5 servings

Fried Pears Recipe

18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:

Friday, October 10, 1913: About the same as other days.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share a recipe for Fried Pears that I found in the August, 1913 issue of Farm Journal.

Fried pears—Fried pears are delicious. Prepare in the following manner: Remove peel, seeds and core. Slice and fry to a delicate brown in drippings or melted butter. Arrange upon a dish and sprinkle powdered sugar on each piece.

I fried the pears in melted butter. At first I used a medium temperature, but then turned it up to medium high to brown the pears. This was hotter than what I normally use when frying with butter—but the pears won’t brown until I turned the heat up.

I used a spatula to turn the pears—and probably cooked them for about 3-5 minutes on each side. Since I used such a high temperature, I watched the pears like a hawk—because I wanted them to brown but not burn.

The powdered (confectioner’s) sugar sweetened the Fried Pears slightly—but did not garnish them for very long. The sugar dissolved in less than a minute.

The Fried Pears were yummy—though very similar to what I think hot canned pears would taste like. If I made this recipe again I would skip the sugar.