Pears: Fresh Drink Trend For 2007

"The kitchen is moving into the bar," says chef Kathy Casey, owner of Kathy Casey Food StudiosR and its cocktail consulting arm, Liquid Kitchen, in Seattle, WA. "Mixologists, bartenders and even home cocktailians are discovering that ingredients found in the kitchen, from fresh fruits to herbs, also work great in cocktails."

Casey says that pear usage in cocktails is one of the trends to watch. "The popularity of pears has a lot to do with their crisp flavor, and the fact that they're not overly potent. For example, the mellow sweetness of pears adds a fantastic flavor counterpoint to the mojito, one of today's most popular cocktails."

Jeffrey Moran, spokesperson for The Absolut Spirits Co., says pears are "the next big flavor," and that the company's new vodka, Absolut Pears, is meant to be a trendsetter. "We constantly have flavorists on the hunt for all the new scents, flavors and tastes, and pear was 'ripe' for us."

Casey says consumers are looking for drinks that are well balanced. not too strong in liquor and not too strong in sweet or sour. "A creative cocktail should be carefully crafted like a dish from the kitchen."

"The pear's crisp flavor comes across beautifully as an enhancement to favorite cocktails, such as in my Clear Pear Cosmo shaken with fresh thyme and featuring a pear-infused vodka," she says.

Casey adds that fresh pears also make beautiful garnishes. For example, she features a paper-thin pear slice in her Oregon Pear Side Car, which calls for Clear Creek Distillery's pear brandy. "I like to cut the pear really thin all the way through the fruit, making a teardrop-shaped slice. I place the garnish in the glass, then pour the drink on top."

The holiday season is a perfect time to serve fresh pears on plates and in glasses. November, December and January are pinnacle months for pears when the broadest selection of varieties is widely available.

Not only are pears delicious, they are nutritious. One medium pear provides 24 percent of the daily requirement for dietary fiber (6 grams), more than any other fruit, and 10 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C.

Absolut Pears Sizzle

1 1/2 parts Absolut Pears (available Jan. 5, 2007)
1/2 part lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 slice fresh peeled ginger
3 slices pear
Club soda

Add ginger, sugar and pear slices into a shaker and muddle into a paste. Add Absolut Pears and lemon juice and shake with ice. Double strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and a slice of pear.

Recipe provided by Absolut Vodka

Oregon Pear Side Car

1/8 orange or 1/4 tangerine
Superfine sugar for rimming glass
1 1/2 ounces vodka
1/2 ounce Clear Creek Pear Brandy
3/4 ounce simple syrup*
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Paper-thin slice of pear for garnishing
Pinch of ground cloves

Rim a cocktail glass by first wiping the edge all around with the piece of orange, then dipping the rim into superfine sugar. Squeeze and drop the citrus wedge into a cocktail shaker, then fill with ice. Measure in the vodka, brandy, simple syrup, and lemon juice. Cap the shaker and shake vigorously at least 10 times.

Lay a paper-thin slice of pear in the cocktail glass. Strain the drink into the glass and dust the surface very lightly with cloves.

Chef's Note: For a super fun way to slice the pear, first cut the pear in half lengthwise. Then, with a very sharp knife or a mandoline, cut a full-size, paper-thin slice from the cut surface of the pear. Flick out any seed fragments if you wish. This will yield a beautiful translucent "pear-shaped" slice. You can get three or four such slices from each pear half. Reserve the remaining pear for another use.

Recipe adapted from Kathy Casey's Northwest Table, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2006.

Clear Pear Cosmo

1 fresh thyme sprig
1 1/2 ounces Pear-Infused Vodka (recipe follows)
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup*
3/4 ounce white cranberry juice
Whole cranberry and pear wedge threaded on a pick for garnishing

Drop the fresh thyme into a cocktail shaker, then fill with ice. Measure in the Pear-Infused Vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, and white cranberry juice. Cap the shaker and shake vigorously, at least 10 times. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cranberry-and-pear pick.

Pear-Infused Vodka

1 750ml bottle of vodka
2 ripe pears

Empty the vodka into a large jar. Cut the pears into thin slices and add to the vodka. Cover the jar and let the vodka infuse for five days. Strain the vodka back into a 750ml bottle. Store at room temperature.

Copyright 2006 by Kathy Casey Food StudiosR

Pear Mojito

2 wedges pear (1/8 pear each)
3 fresh mint sprigs
2 ounces white rum
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup*
1 ounce soda water
Fresh mint spring for garnishing

Drop one pear wedge into a cocktail shaker. Tear the mint and add to the shaker. Measure in the rum, lime juice and simple syrup. With a muddler or the end of a fat wooden spoon, tap down on the pear and mint for 30 seconds to release the flavor. Fill the shaker with ice. Cap the shaker and shake vigorously, at least 10 times. Strain into a tall glass filled with ice and top with soda. Garnish with the remaining pear wedge and mint sprig.

Simple Syrup

* Simple syrup is available at most liquor stores or in the mixer section of grocery stores. You can also make it at home using the recipe below.

4 cups sugar
4 cups water

Combine the ingredients in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Bottle and store at room temperature until needed. Keeps indefinitely.

Copyright 2006 by Kathy Casey Food StudiosR

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