Oregon pear crisp

The Pacific Northwest in a baking dish: Anjou pears from the Hood River Valley tumbled with brown sugar and lemon, buried under a rubble of rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until bubbling gold: America's most honest dessert from the world's greatest pear valley

Origin: United States

From the journey of Pear.

The Hood River Valley in Oregon, sheltered between the Columbia River Gorge and the slopes of Mount Hood, is the most productive pear-growing region in the United States and arguably one of the most important in the world. The volcanic basalt soils, the warm dry summers, the cold winters, and the precise microclimate of the Gorge produce Anjou, Bosc, Comice, and Bartlett pears of exceptional quality and size. Pear orchards were established in the Hood River Valley from the 1850s, when the Oregon Trail brought settlers from the Midwest who brought with them the American tradition of fruit farming and the British-derived tradition of the 'crisp' or 'crumble'; a baked fruit dessert with a buttered oat and sugar topping. The American pear crisp is a direct descendant of the British crumble (which dates to World War II austerity, when butter and flour for pastry were rationed) and the earlier British 'brown Betty' tradition. In the Pacific Northwest, the pear crisp became the specific expression of the orchard culture: a simple, abundant dessert that could be made from whatever the orchards had in excess at harvest, baked in a cast-iron pan or ceramic dish and served warm at the farmhouse table with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a pour of cream.

Ingredients

Filling

1 kg firm-ripe Anjou, Bosc, or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1cm wedges
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp plain flour or cornstarch (to thicken the juices)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground ginger
0.25 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping

150 g rolled oats (old-fashioned oats, not instant)
100 g plain flour
120 g light brown sugar, packed
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp salt
110 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
60 g pecan halves or toasted walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

Accompaniment

Vanilla ice cream or pouring cream, to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C (fan 170°C / 375°F). Butter a 23×33cm baking dish or equivalent deep ceramic dish.
Toss the sliced pears with the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish.
Make the topping: combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the oat mixture until it resembles coarse, clumpy rubble; some larger butter pieces are desirable. Stir in the nuts if using.
Scatter the topping evenly over the pear filling, covering it completely and mounding it slightly in the centre.
Bake for 35–45 minutes until the topping is deep golden brown and crisp, and the pear juices are bubbling up around the edges and through the topping.
Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving: the filling sets slightly as it cools. Serve warm in deep bowls with vanilla ice cream melting into the hot crisp, or with cold pouring cream.

Notes

The Hood River Valley produces approximately 50 million pounds of pears annually, making it the dominant pear-growing region in the US. The Anjou pear, the dominant variety, was developed in Belgium in the early 19th century (named for the Anjou region of France) and brought to Oregon by settlers on the Oregon Trail. Anjou pears are unusual in that they do not change colour as they ripen, they remain green whether ripe or underripe, and must be tested for ripeness by feel (a gentle pressure at the neck). The Pacific Northwest pear crisp has become as identified with Hood River culture as Dungeness crab with the Oregon coast or Pinot Noir with the Willamette Valley.

The Gastrographer

Name: Oregon pear crisp
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 kg firm-ripe Anjou, Bosc, or Bartlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1cm wedges; 3 tbsp light brown sugar; 1 tbsp plain flour or cornstarch (to thicken the juices); 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp ground ginger; 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150 g rolled oats (old-fashioned oats, not instant); 100 g plain flour; 120 g light brown sugar, packed; 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.25 tsp salt; 110 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes; 60 g pecan halves or toasted walnuts, roughly chopped (optional); Vanilla ice cream or pouring cream, to serve

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control