054 / 75 · Fruit Salads for the Table
Lemon Canned Pear Almond Cups
4 spoonable lemon-pear almond cups, about 165–170 ml each; modest dessert portions · Active 30 min · Total 6 hr 30 min
Print recipe · PDFSmall pear dice and thin almond pieces sit in a soft lemon gel served in cups. The cups are not unmolded, allowing a gentler spoon-set texture. Canned pear packing juice is measured separately from the drained fruit.
A spoon cup is not a miniature ring
Seven grams gelatin supports this softer cup dessert with its minimum four-hour refrigerator set. The food stays in the serving dish; do not warm and invert it expecting a sharp free-standing form. Wide cups make the almond and pear pieces easy to reach with a spoon. The final fill stays well below the rim so a lid or cover can sit without touching the food.
Almonds are small pieces inside the gel
Choose commercially ready-to-eat thin sliced almonds and inspect for hard fragments. Break unusually large slices once or twice before folding in. The 20 grams is shared among the whole batch, not sprinkled as an extra nut topping. Drain canned pears, blot and dice them small. Measured lemon juice gives flavor without adding an unlisted squeeze at service. As with any moist opened fruit mixture, cover the cups and keep cold through setting and service; a sweet gel is not shelf-stable preservation.
Ingredients
- 1 standard ¼-ounce envelope unflavored powdered gelatin (7 g), of specified setting strength
- 3 tablespoons cold drinking water (45 ml)
- 1½ cups ready-to-eat canned pear packing juice (360 ml), divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (30 ml)
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar (20 g)
- 1 cup ready-to-eat canned pear dice AFTER draining (180 g), patted dry
- ¼ cup commercially ready-to-eat thin sliced almonds (20 g), checked for hard fragments and broken smaller if large
Set out
Sieve and clean towel, Knife and board, Small saucepan, Mixing bowl and spoon, Scale and measuring jug, 4 wide refrigerator-safe serving cups of at least 240 ml capacity each, Food thermometer, Refrigerator
Allergens
Tree nuts (almond). Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Drain pears, pat dry, dice small and weigh 180 g. Inspect almond slices and break large pieces. Set out four clean 240 ml serving cups; these need no oil. Bloom gelatin over 45 ml cold water in mixing bowl 5–10 minutes.
- Warm 180 ml measured pear packing juice with sugar to 140–150°F (60–65°C), stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and stir into gelatin until dissolved. Add remaining 180 ml juice and lemon.
- Refrigerate 20–35 minutes, stirring gently every 10 minutes, until cool and just beginning to thicken. Fold in cold pear dice and thin almond pieces. Divide evenly among cups, about 165–170 ml each, stirring gently between scoops. Leave at least ½ inch (1.25 cm) headroom.
- Cover and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below at least 4 hours until softly set. Allow 6½ hours total including preparation/cooling and a setting margin. Serve cold with spoons; do not unmold.
Gelatin starting strength
Use food-grade unflavored powdered gelatin with a manufacturer benchmark of 7 g for about 2 cups (500 ml) plain liquid. Weigh the stated grams: envelope sizes and powder density vary. A flavored dessert packet, collagen peptides, sheet gelatin or agar is not an equal substitute.
Cold service
This is an original retro-inspired recipe, not a recovered 1960s formula. Gelatin is animal-derived; the vegetable ingredients do not make the dish vegetarian. A reliable refrigerator and the stated earlier ingredient deadlines are essential.
Ingredient labels
Read almond, canned pear and gelatin labels; the variation without almonds does not establish freedom from cross-contact.
A useful detail
Free liquid totals 435 ml, plus 20 g sugar, 180 g drained pear and 20 g sliced almonds. Seven grams gelatin provides a soft spoon set for roughly 670 ml mixture, not a firm free-standing ring. Four 240 ml cups have ample room above approximately 168 ml each.
Another way
- Use 20 g commercially ready-to-eat finely chopped walnuts instead of almonds, declaring the changed nut.
- For a version without almonds, omit them and use 20 g extra drained pear, checking all labels and shared-equipment statements.
Keep it well
Keep covered at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 2 days of assembly or the earliest ingredient deadline, whichever comes first. Include the overnight setting period in that limit. Keep total unrefrigerated preparation and serving below 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Chill slices promptly after service; discard food exceeding those limits. Do not freeze; freezing damages the gel and releases water.