In defence of the pear

Why we think it’s time the pear stepped into the limelight

Photography: Kirstie Young

Goodness, but we love a pear. The combination of crisp and soft, sweet and refreshing, and so versatile. A pear is just as joyful whether eaten as a simple finishing point to a lunchbreak sarnie, as it is poached in wine, sunk into a crumbly cake or layered atop a tart.

But we have to say, and we don’t think we are courting controversy here, we think pears aren’t getting the love they deserve.

There’s the expression ‘pear-shaped’. In body shape terms, it may be preferable to being an ‘apple’ (or a melon soon after Christmas) but why the negative connotation in a plan ‘going pear-shaped’? Isn’t pear-shaped a beautiful and natural thing, the glorious juicy contents expanding generously towards the bottom and easing slowly outwards? If a plan goes hideously awry surely it’s starfruit-shaped? Or dragon-fruit shaped? Or pancake-shaped, even? It just seems undeserved.

We hate to take sides but our difficulty really is with the apple as pear-opponent, particularly at this time of year.

We like an apple, too, of course (some of our best friends are apples) but sometimes it seems that it’s all about apples just now. We bob for apples, we eat them from a string in silly party games, we stick the pips to our head to tell who our true love will be… October even has its own apple DAY, we recently noted. Our November issue has a rather splendid recipe for toffee apples. And we liked the results so much we even put them on the front cover, as you might have seen. You see, even we are not immune to the charms of the apple. Who doesn’t love a toffee apple?

However, we can’t help feeling that the cumulative effect of all this apple love is sometimes at the expense of the lovely, unassuming pear.

Pears have been growing in England since the year 995, so they should really have their feet firmly under the table. A pear tree may survive for up to 250 years, so it’s no surprise that the pear is a symbol of immortality in Chinese culture. Take note, apple trees, with your paltry 100-year lifespan.

An apple a day may be known for ‘keeping the doctor away’ but a pear is one of the highest-fibre fruits you can treat yourself to. It also includes calcium, magnesium, copper and manganese, as well as the antioxidant quercetin, which, according to Sunday supplements, helps prevent cancer and reduces blood pressure. Basically, if the pear were newer to the supermarket than the sun-dried tomato, we’d be calling it a superfood.

And finally, m’lud, we would like to point out that a griddled slice of pear on a crusty piece of bread with a sliver of blue cheese reclined louchely upon it is a food of the Gods, and an apple, while delicious, butters no parsnips in this circumstance. <Gavel>

We accept that may be a fruit ‘n’ veg metaphor too far, so we will bow out gracefully now, but will first give a nod to the lovely feature in our November issue on things you can do with pears today, tomorrow and next year. It’s written by Lia Leendertz who knows a thing or two about how to use orchard fruit well, with photography by Kirstie Young. One not to miss. Do send us a slice of the dark chocolate and pear cake when you’ve made it, please.

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Forgotten bookmarks

We won’t judge a book by its cover… though we might judge it by what’s left among its pages

Illustration: Jane Mount

A shopping list for a supper with friends, last summer’s postcard, a card advertising a restaurant you don’t remember going to… The things you find you’ve left in books to mark your place, and then forgotten, often bring back a wry smile.

But the things other people have used as bookmarks and then abandoned to the pages can range from the indescribable to the indigestible.

When Washington librarian Anna Holmes tweeted earlier this year: “Dearest patrons, PLEASE stop using cheese as a bookmark. Please. We give away actual bookmarks for free. Or like use a receipt or something. Just not perishables” one would have thought the world would reel, but no.

The world responded with its own tales of bizarre bookmarks they’ve had the misfortune to find: bacon, a circular saw, a piece of broccoli, toenail clippings and a clump of hair.

It turns out forgotten bookmarks are quite a phenomenon. (We’re assuming they’re forgotten and that people aren’t putting deli items into library books intentionally).

To prove it, enter New York State second-hand bookseller Michael Popek, of Forgotten Bookmarks, who catalogues all the strange and wonderful things he has found between the pages of the books that enter his shop.

From four-leafed clovers to a marijuana leaf, love notes to a suicide note (which he chose not to photograph, understandably), each item is a tiny snapshot of an anonymous person’s life and utterly compelling for it. He photographs each object, along with the book he found it in and publishes them together. Sometimes it’s easy to imagine the reader, and the scenario in which the object ended up in the book. One can almost picture the small, slightly grubby little boy who left his Bear Cub Scouting patch inside a copy of Adventure in the Haunted House. Less easy to conjure to mind is the owner of the photograph of a coffin (occupied) inside a copy of Amelia Earhart’s The Fun of It.

Popek has published photos of some of the forgotten bookmarks he has found over the years in a book called, unsurprisingly, Forgotten Bookmarks. We thoroughly recommend it. Don’t forget to take your cheese slice out of it when you’ve finished it though.

And if you’re in search of a new favourite tome in which to lose a slice of cheddar (or worse), you might like to read ‘Looking for Books’ in our November issue, in which Frances Ambler takes an illustrated tour with Jane Mount, author and illustrator of Bibliophile, around some of the world’s best independent bookshops.

More on books…

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Halloween | Five great ghouls

We love scary stories, especially in the chill nights of autumn. From Frankenstein to Freddy Krueger, monsters are enduringly fascinating. It seems we can’t get enough of scaring ourselves silly. Here are five great ghouls

DRACULA

The vampire as seductive killer has become one of horror’s (and, latterly, romance’s) staples. These days Dracula is often reduced to a campy stereotype, but bloodsucking parasites are constantly reinvented for their age – as in Justin Cronin’s saga The Passage, where virus- carrying vampires ravage a post- apocalyptic wasteland.

FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER

Another figure more often seen in pastiche, the monster is a tragic figure, man’s hubris made real and deadly. In an age when science is once again taking over what was once seen as ‘God’s work’ (with cloning, genetic modification, etc) it’s no surprise this idea sees multiple revivals on TV, film and stage.

FREDDY KRUEGER

Razor-clawed, pizza-faced Freddy has been sanitised into a clownish Halloween costume over the years (people often forget he started out as a child killer), but his unforgettable look, plus his ability to enter our very dreams and prey on our subconscious fears, make him one of cinema’s great monsters.

HANNIBAL LECTER

Most famously played by Anthony Hopkins, and recently reinvented by Mads Mikkelsen in the blood-soaked TV series Hannibal, this suave, cunning and ruthless cannibal set the template for the sophisticated serial killer, able to charm his victims – and captors – despite being guilty of the most horrible crimes.

THE ARMITAGES

Easygoing and friendly, the urbane, intellectual family in Get Out welcome their daughter’s black boyfriend into their home – but when their sinister reasons become apparent, the terror begins. They could be your neighbours, your friends, and you wouldn’t ever know...

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Nest | Kangaroo paw

Kangaroo paw, also known as Anigozanthos, is native to Australia and has a paw-like structure, hence the name. It’s now available in shades of silver and pale pink though it’s best known in its fiery colours of ochre, amber, red and rust.

The flowers work well in a mixed arrangement due to their stiff structure. Kangaroo paw is also good in mini bouquet-style buttonholes as its native climate means it can last all day without water.

Photography and flowers: Ellie Marlow, Catkin & Pussywillow, Winchester railway station (catkinandpussywillow.com)
 

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Know a thing or two... Trees and druid traditions

Druids revere the natural world above all else. Trees, particularly oaks (‘Druid’ is thought to have meant ‘knowledge of the oak’), are considered sacred, and meetings are held in forest groves.

Druids believe in the interconnectedness of all life and in an afterlife. Some of their traditional beliefs and rituals are still around in altered forms:

The Yule Log

Druids believed that the sun stood still for 12 days at midwinter, and so they burnt a log throughout this period to banish the darkness and to keep evil spirits at bay.

Mistletoe

The cream berries of the mistletoe in the depths of winter were seen as a symbol of life. Pliny the Elder records a moonlit ceremony in which a priest would cut the bough of mistletoe with a golden sickle, and catch it in a white cloak.

Wassailing

This Twelfth Night tradition has Celtic roots and is upheld in druidry, offering a gift of cider and baked apples to fruit trees to ensure the coming year’s bountiful harvest (see issue 67).

Turn to page 85 of October's The Simple Things for more of our arboreal lore and legend feature including secrets of our autumn woodlands and nine native British trees.

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Playlist | A Menu of Songs

Don’t know about you, but we’re dining out on these

Listen to our songs about food

More playlists…

Happy talk

Using more positive language can make a big difference to your life, reawakening your confidence and boosting your happiness

Say positive things at every opportunity. Say thank you; give praise, pay compliments.

Focus on your strengths and write three affirmations that begin “I am...” They needn’t be true (yet).

Monitor your speech over a day. Note the patterns you fall into and start rephrasing.

Try some simple switches:

I’m hopeless at... I’m learning to

It’s impossible... It’s a real challenge No problem... You’re welcome

I messed up... I can do better

I’m stressed... I have a lot on

More on using positive language on page 76 of October’s The Simple Things.

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Recipe | Portugese custard tarts (Pastéis de nata)

Easy to make and beyond delicious, these little delights are great for breakfast, elevenses, afternoon tea – or any time of day at all, really

Portugese custard tarts (Pastéis de nata)

Makes 12

Butter, for greasing
110g caster sugar
2 tbsp cornflour
3 egg yolks
225ml double cream
175ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry
Ground cinnamon, for dusting
Icing sugar, for dusting

1 Grease a 12-hole muffin tin (unless using a non-stick tin). In a saucepan, mix together the caster sugar, cornflour and egg yolks. Gradually add the cream and milk, whisking until smoothish. Don’t worry about lumps – they will whisk out.

2 Stir over a medium heat until the mixture becomes very thick and, just before it comes to the boil, stop whisking, remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract and tip into a bowl.

3 Cover with cling film directly on the custard to prevent a skin forming. Leave to cool.

4 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Unroll the pastry with the long edge closest to you (landscape format), dust with a little cinnamon and cut in half vertically. Put one piece on top of the other and, starting from the bottom (shortest) edge, tightly roll up the pastry pieces into a sausage shape.

5 Slice into 12 evenly sized discs. Use a rolling pin or your fingers to flatten out the discs into thin circles. Press into a muffin tin and spoon in the cold custard.

6 Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 mins until the pastry is golden and the custard is puffed up, bubbling and golden in parts. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 mins (they will shrink down as they cool) before removing. Caramelise the tops with a cook’s blowtorch if they’re not as browned as you’d like. Sometimes they are, sometimes they’re not!

7 Serve either warm or at room temperature with a last-minute dusting of icing sugar and ground cinnamon.

Cook’s note: Get ahead by making the custard (in steps 1, 2 and 3) up to three days ahead and keeping in the fridge. You can prepare as far as the end of step 5 any time on the day of baking. The tarts can also be baked several days ahead and eaten warmed through or simply served at room temperature.

Recipe from The Get-Ahead Cook by Jane Lovett (Apicius Publishing)

Cake in the House is our monthly recipe feature - get a cake recipe every month in The Simple Things!

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Five black plants

Don’t be afraid of the dark: adding a touch of gothic horror to your garden can be smart, dramatic and not at all spooky

THE NEW BLACK FIVE FAVOURITE PLANTS

1 ALCEA ROSEA ‘NIGRA’

Tall, stately hollyhocks are a staple of the traditional English cottage garden. Subvert their easy charm by choosing the mysteriously dark variety, ‘Nigra’, with its glossy velvety petals. Available from crocus.co.uk.

2 ZANTEDESCHIA ‘BLACK STAR’

Sending their silky maroon spathes out from speckled green leaves, these arum lilies add an exotic flavour to patio containers. They also make elegant and long-lasting cut flowers.

From jparkers.co.uk

3 OXALIS TRIANGULARIS ‘BURGUNDY WINE’

The purple-leaf false shamrock is ideal in a conservatory or on a sunny windowsill. It’s lovely to look at, its deep-plum leaves folding themselves up at night.

From thompson-morgan.com.

4 SAMBUCUS NIGRA F.PORPHYROPHYLLA ‘EVA’

A stunning variety of our native elder. Umbels of pale-pink flowers stand out against its dark lace leaves in summer, and you’ll be rewarded with deep, glossy berries come autumn.

Available from crocus.co.uk.

5 TULIPA ‘QUEEN OF NIGHT’

These graceful tulips make a bold statement in the garden, in pots or borders. Plant the bulbs over the coming weeks to enjoy their deep velvet blooms in spring. They also make excellent cut flowers.

Available from sarahraven.com.

Turn to page 113 of October’s The Simple Things for more black gardens.
 

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Positive News from around the world | Balancing the books

When she realised that collections of rare literary works are dominated by male authors, AN Devers set about redressing the balance

"They are as close to perfect objects as exist in the world," smiles AN Devers, describing her favourite subject - books. Five years ago, she was working as an arts journalist in New York City when occasionally buying a signed first edition by a favourite writer turned into a more serious habit. Devers started going to rare book fairs and quickly noticed a price discrepancy in modern first editions by men, and those written by women.

“I knew that the rare book world was considered rather old-fashioned, but I hadn’t realised there were so few women book collectors or dealers compared to the number of men who sell and collect," she says.

Not long after, Devers was struck by the idea for The Second Shelf: a rare book business focused on books by and about women. The collector trade is part of a supply chain, she explains, one that leads to readers’ bookshelves, universities, archives and libraries. Historically dominated by white, Western ‘bookmen’, women – particularly women of colour – have simply been deemed less collectable.

“I put it down to the gender bias that plagues nearly all fields,” she says. “Women’s contributions are typically undervalued across all areas of our life and professional experience.”

The only book she has given herself permission to keep “that I could – and should – sell” is a first edition of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Written under the pseudonym of Victoria Lucas, it’s a work that Devers calls “tremendous and underrated”.

Earlier this year, Devers also launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. It was a way to communicate the gender imbalance issue and also to raise funds for her burgeoning business. She used the proceeds – 608 backers pledged £32,000 – to launch an online book shop. And she now also prints a quarterly publication: a magazine and rare book catalogue hybrid for people who share her passion.

AN Devers and some of her favourite books at Second Shelf (thesecondshelf.com).

Turn to page 52 of October’s The Simple Things for more articles written by our friends at Positive News, the magazine for good journalism about good things. See the world from a different angle; positive.news/subscribe.

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Stories behind superstitions | The wrong side of the bed

Why do we talk about the wrong side of the bed? There are sinister reasons underfoot

Having a bad day? It’s not because of that massive delay on your way into work or forgetting that appointment. No, it’s obviously because you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. These days, we don’t tend to have a specific side in mind, but in earlier times, the wrong side specifically meant the left. The Latin adjective sinister originally meant ‘left’ but later took on meanings of both evil and unlucky: inn-keepers were said to push beds against walls to prevent their guests being able to get out of anything but the ‘right’ side.

Thankfully modern surveys trump Roman superstition. Over the past decade we’ve not only found that those who get out on the left side each day are likely to have more friends and to enjoy their jobs, but they are also more likely to be in a better mood than those who instead choose the right-hand side.

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In what way is this a gift?

Domestic disasters, terrible weather, awkward family situations – whatever life throws at you, try reframing it with the question above. Not only does it make you feel more optimistic just by asking it, you’ll find it doesn’t take you long to see the positive side. Jot down some things that are niggling you at the moment and see if you can turn them around.

Eg, our TV is broken = We have more time to talk/read/listen to music.

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Make | Silhouette portrait

PUT KNIFE TO PAPER FOR A CLEVER VERSION OF THE FAMILY SNAP

You will need:
Cutting mat
1 sheet lightweight A4 black paper, 80–120 gsm
1 sheet lightweight A4 white copy paper, max 80 gsm, for templates
1 sheet mid-weight A4 white craft paper, min 120 gsm, for background
Sticky tape
Craft knife or scalpel, with blades
Metal ruler
Pencil
Eraser
PVA glue
Toothpick or cocktail stick
A4 picture frame
A family photograph
Photocopier or scanner

1 Find a family photograph in which individuals or a group are in silhouette, with their outlines clearly visible (photos taken against a wall or plain background work best) – ideally, individual silhouettes would just join or overlap within a group composition, so they remain recognisable. Photocopy and enlarge the photo if necessary to fit A4 size and then trace the relevant outline onto an A4 sheet of copy paper to make a template.

2 Place the template over your sheet of black paper and attach both to your cutting mat with a piece of sticky tape placed over the corners (take care not to place tape over the image area).

3 Start cutting away the white, negative shapes with a scalpel — begin with the smallest areas, to help prevent your paper from tearing. You’ll be cutting both the template sheet and black paper simultaneously. Anchor the cutting mat with one hand, and work with the blade in your other, holding it vertically, like a pencil, for greater precision. It will help you to keep the blade straight if you move the whole mat around while cutting shapes.

4 Continue to work until all of the white paper is cut away, using a metal ruler with your scalpel for any straight lines.

5 Carefully remove your template and finished papercut from the cutting mat and separate the two.

6 Fixing mistakes is not impossible. If you’ve cut too much or too far, you can mend the area from the back. Simply dot glue onto the papercut surface using a toothpick or cocktail stick, then ‘patch’ the area using a tiny scrap of black paper.

7 Place the finished silhouette centrally onto your A4 white background paper sheet and mark its position lightly with pencil dots (these can be erased later).

8 Turn the silhouette over and, again using PVA glue and a toothpick or cocktail stick, dot glue onto the reverse (you don’t need to cover the surface with glue — this should be enough). Position the silhouette, right side up, in line with your previous pencil marks, and smooth down onto the backing sheet. Leave to dry completely.

9 You can now frame your piece. Use a flat frame and sandwich the silhouette between glass and backing.

Adapted from V&A Paper Crafts: A Maker’s Guide (Thames & Hudson in association with the V&A).

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Recipe | Chocolate & hazelnut granola

Homemade granola is so much better than shop-bought, especially when it’s a luxurious chocolate and hazelnut one. Once made and cooled, this will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

Serves 6

100g salted butter
200ml honey
2 tbsp cocoa powder
250g porridge oats
200g hazelnuts, blanched and roughly chopped
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a large pan with the honey and cocoa powder. Tip in the rest of the ingredients and mix well until everything is combined.

2 Tip the mixture onto a large baking tray, spread it out and press down lightly. Bake for 18 mins, then remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. When cool, break into chunks and store in an airtight container. Serve with yogurt and fruit.

Turn to page 38 of August's The Simple Things for more of our staple foods feature on hazelnuts from Lia Leendertz.

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The Comfort of Things | An organised wardrobe

My teenage stepson lives with us part time – a set-up I enjoy very much, but with one reservation. He is the master of the ‘floor drop’, ie, the notion of hanging clothes up is totally alien to him, so they lie heaped on the floor mouldering away. I am loathe to tiptoe into his room when he’s out, pick up his jeans and T-shirts and put them away in his wardrobe for him, but I can’t bear to see them lying there. What to do?

Answer in brief: make hanging up clothes cool
The ways of the teenage boy are indeed mysterious. Whereas you take pleasure in rows of neatly hung jeans, to him that idea is beyond consideration. Clothes are to be worn, then discarded until they need washing (preferably by someone else). But it’s good to encourage him to take responsibility. Try propping a vintage wooden ladder by his bedside (or buying a ready-made version, left) to drape his clothes on. It will take less effort than opening a wardrobe and finding a hanger, and may just persuade him to do it.

Turn to page 114 of October's The Simple Things for more on organised wardrobes.

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A could-do list for October

Things you might want to do this month (no pressure!)

• Make toffee apples – or our liquorice shards

• See how many different coloured leaves you can find

• Tell a ghost story

• Gather some hedgerow hips and haws for a bouquet

• Call a friend for a proper chat instead of texting

• Leave town for the day and go for a countryside walk

• Think about all the good things you have in your life right now and write a list of some of them

What would you add? Come over and tell us on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Home hacks | Make a terracotta heater

It’s an effective use of all those Ikea tealights, and creates enough heat to keep a room toasty (and energy bills down).

You will need:
4 tealights
Metal loaf tin
Matches or a lighter 2 bricks
Cooling rack
2 terracotta flower pots: one should fit inside the other, with about 2cm of space between the two
Small piece of foil

1 Pop the tealights in the loaf tin and light. Then add a brick on either side of the tin and place the rack on top.
2 Position the smaller of the two pots upside down on the rack, right over the candles.
3 Cover the hole in the bottom of the pot with foil.
4 Then put the larger pot over the first.
5 If and when the candles go out, just slide out the tin to relight or swap in a new tealight.

Note: It heats up quickly and will be too hot to touch after about half an hour, so keep kids and pets away.

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The official rules of conkers

There are varying rules for a conker fight, but these are the ones laid out by The Woodland Trust, so you can run your own back garden championships:

1. Wrap the loose end of the string around your hand. One player should dangle their conker on about 25cm of string, keeping it absolutely still.

2. The other player then swings their conker at it to try to break it.

3. If the attacking player misses, they can have two more chances before it’s their opponent’s turn.

4. Take turns until one of the conkers breaks and you have a winner.

5. A new conker is called a ‘none-er’ as it hasn’t beaten anyone yet. When it beats another conker, it’s a ‘one-er’. If it beats another, it becomes a ‘two-er’ and so on.

Turn to page 64 of October’s The Simple Things for How to do autumn well, including how to pick a prime pumpkin, Apple Day, and how to go mushrooming (without updating your will).

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Recipe | Schiacciata di uva

Schiacciata di uva

A RECIPE TO CELEBRATE HARVEST (SCHIACCIATA MEANS ‘SQUASHED’)

Serves 12

200g raisins
250ml vin santo or moscatel
850g strong white bread flour
2 scant tsp fast-action yeast
435ml warm water (100-110C)
1 1⁄2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
450g black seedless grapes, washed and stalks removed
2 tbsp demerara sugar
2 tbsp fennel seeds
you will need
A 33 x 22cm baking tray

1 In a small pan, bring the raisins and vin santo or moscatel to a boil, then turn off the heat and set aside for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

2 Mix the flour and yeast with 1 tsp salt. In a jug, combine the warm water with the olive oil. Pour into the flour mixture and combine, then knead until smooth and elastic. Or use a mixer with dough hook attachment.

3 Brush a thin layer of oil over the inside of a large bowl and put the dough inside, turning it over in the oil. Cover with cling film or a plastic bag and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour 30 mins).

4 Brush a 33 x 22cm baking tray with oil. Divide the dough into two and roll half out to the size of the tray, pushing it into the corners. Drain the raisin mixture and spoon over the dough. Roll out the second half of dough to the same size and sandwich over the first. Pinch the edges to join. Leave in a warm place, covered with a clean tea towel, until risen (at least 30 mins).

5 Preheat oven to 190C/Fan 170C/ Gas 5. When the dough has risen, scatter over the grapes, then sprinkle over the sugar and fennel seeds.

6 Bake in the preheated oven for 45 mins, until you have a golden crust and the grapes are bubbling and releasing their juices. Cool on a wire rack for 15 mins, then cut into generous slices to serve, with coffee or as a dessert in its own right.

Turn to page 24 of October’s The Simple Things for more of our autumn fruit feast, including Blistered grapes, ricotta & toasted sourdough, Parma-wrapped chicken with figs & gorgonzola, Herb-roasted veg Kale & fennel salad, and Poached prunes with Pedro Ximénez.

A feast of autumn fruit was inspired by the annual harvest days at Dunleavy Vineyards in the Chew Valley, Somerset, when friends and family join together to help harvest grapes and share a meal in the vineyard afterwards.

Launched in 2008 by Ingrid Bates, the vineyard produces multi-award winning rosé wine from Pinot noir and Seyval blanc grapes. Dunleavy Vineyards’ first sparkling wine will be available from October 2018.

dunleavyvineyards.co.uk

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