The branches are loaded.
Kieffer pears are weighing them down. But if you've ever bitten into a kieffer pear, you know they kind of taste like pear flavoured sand. They're downright gritty.
But what this fruit, which is about to start falling onto a city boulevard near you and begin to rot, can't do fresh, it more than makes up for when canned. Kieffer pears are beautiful preserved.
Last year, kieffer pears made up the bulk of the 1,400 pounds of fruit the Garden of Eating — Niagara harvested. Those were taken to soup kitchens and shelters where cooks could work their magic with them, turning them into crisp and using them to accompany pork.
This year, there will still be plenty of kieffers for local kitchens in need of fresh food but I've received an incredibly generous offer to have the culinary high skills specialist major students from the Niagara Catholic District School Board jar pears from Garden of Eating harvests to donate to the food bank.
Problem is, while I have hundreds of pounds of fruit just about ready to be picked, I don't have the mason jars.
So, this is where I start begging. If anyone has any old jars that they no longer use — I'm looking for anything that is 500 millilitres and up — let me know. I will gladly take them off your hands. They will be put to good use, which is providing people in need with healthy, delicious local fruit that they can eat long after pear season passes.
I've already had some kind folks offer up a couple dozen jars but more than that will be needed. I figure there are at least 700 pounds of pears in my future.
If you have a closet overflowing with mason jars unfulfilled, please drop me a line at eatingniagara@gmail.com. I will drive for jars, too. My tiny Toyota has a big trunk and can selflessly carry my frame and a heavy load if need be.
