what pears are best for cooking and eating?

Answer 1

Usually people eat barlett pears, also these are most common. For cooking try Bosc pears. They are a little fatter and browner than the barlett. The are perfect for poaching in white zinfandale, or cooking in general as they maintain their shape.

Answer 2

I love Bosc pears and Asian pears for eating and cooking. Here's a very simple dish of chicken and pears that I make with bosc pears. Just use chicken breasts each with a half-strip of bacon on top. (You can leave the skin on or remove it before cooking. You can also use chicken thighs without the bacon. If you're a vegetarian, you can substitute thickly-sliced eggplant.)

First, line a cookie sheet with foil and add your chicken. Then add enough soy sauce to completely cover the chicken and make a little puddle under the bottom. Put the chicken in a 350 degree oven. Then wash your hands. If there's room, you can slip in another pan of b-size red potatoes cut in half and sprinkled liberally with salt and butter chucks. If not, you can prepare your veggie sides in the microwave.

While that's going, slice firm Bosc pears into rounds. Then add powdered ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, and your pear rounds to a ziptop bag. Shake, shake, shake until everything is coated.

Go back and check your chicken to see if you need to add more soy sauce. Don't let it get too dry.

Pour a few cups of wine (I prefer Reisling) or fruit juice with a little heavy syrup from a can of peaches into a pan to simmer, when the temp is just below a boil, add your seasoned pears and bring to a boil for five minutes. Reduce heat to simmer.

Now flip the chicken to the other side and add more soy sauce if needed. If you're microwaving a veggie side dish, now's the time to go for it.

Remove the pears into your serving bowl once they are fork tender (not mushy) and increase the heat on the sauce. Simmerdown until you have just enough to fully glaze your chicken.

While that's finishing up, set your table, check your sides, fix your salad or have a quick makeout session with your sweetie. Then check the chicken one last time and remove if done near bone. Pour the sauce back over your pears before serving.

This dish is very flavorful, and easy enough to make any night of the week. Total chicken cooking time is about 30 mins. Total time from the moment you step into the kitchen to the time you you sit down for dinner is about 45 minutes.

Answer 3

D'anjou and Barlett for eating
Cooking Pears (sorry, dont' know the variety) for cooking -- they are very coarse in texture and hard, but cook great!