Medieval Stuffed Pears

Pear from the outside

I’m back to redacting medieval recipes, and I’ve missed it. I prefer using medieval recipes from England, as I can read Middle English and Early Modern English fairly well, and I prefer to go to the source rather than rely on someone else's translation. I've ventured into French recipes, as I studied modern French and can somewhat make out the text, but I haven't moved beyond that.

Until today. Today I redacted a recipe from the Mittelniederdeutsches Kochbuch, a 15th century recipe collection written in German. I know nothing of the German language, either modern or medieval, so I relied on another's translation.

The recipe was for pears stuffed with meat, and the translation I used is as follows:

95 Item if you would make pears, take them and cut the pears off above (cut off the tops). Cut our the core and throw it away. And pound the other with fat meat. And take (add) egg yolk and spices and salt. Fill that back into the pears. And set them in the embers and let them roast.

Pear from the inside

I did what it said (I used pork as my meat), but also added chevre, as the original seemed like it would be a little bland. The chevre added a whole new dimension to it. And I took "spices" a little liberally, and added herbs as well as a bit of scallion that complemented both the meat and the chevre.

They were fantastic, with so much flavor. They probably could have used a little longer in the oven (alas, no cooking in embers here) or else I need to cut out more pear. I think cutting out more pear is the answer, as the walls are pretty thick (see picture). My best friend came over to serve as a guinea pig, and she enjoyed them, too.

I would absolutely eat this dish as everyday fare.