Remember the 75 pounds of peaches? Well, now I am happy to be swimming in pears.

These are sand pears: crunchy, crisp and (hence the name) slightly gritty.

I was glad I didn’t have one fall on my head as I was picking them; those pears are big and pretty heavy too!

I’m not as panicky about getting them processed as I was about the peaches; sand pears ripen much more slowly.

I have found that the grittiness is reduced as they ripen.

Right now I have a batch of spiced sand pear butter in the Crock-Pot; look for that recipe soon!

Other plans include a gingery pear jam and pear cobbler mix.

Do you have any favorite sand pear recipes? I’d love to hear your ideas. It seems that many have never even heard of these pears.

You can comment below or join me on Facebook!