Sand Pear Pie
The Sand Pear (also called Chinese Pear, Japanese Pear, or Asian Pear) is found throughout the South (USDA zones 5a - 8b). For those accustomed to a "pear" as the common Bartlett pear found in the grocery store, a Sand Pear doesn't look much like a pear at all. It is round, about the size of a baseball, and very hard. Does the name come from the sandy soil it usually grows in, or does it come from the rough texture of the fruit? Who knows? The fruit is very seldom eaten raw, and doing so can have a laxative effect. Health benefits are said to include helping with weight loss, being high in fiber, Vitamin C and K.
Sand Pears can be substituted for apples is most recipes. In this case, we made a Sand Pear Pie that is based on a basic crumb top apple pie.
Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing - the taste is delicious! It is slightly different than an apple pie, but unless you knew otherwise, you would not know that it wasn't a fine apple pie.
