We Tried 3 Spins On Old-School Pear Salad – And Here Are The Results

Something happened on the Southern Living Instagram account a few weeks ago. We shared a video of Senior Lifestyle Editor Ivy Odom making a Southern recipe (as Ivy typically does), and our followers had a lot to say. As in, over six thousand comments plus countless questions about this classic dish. "Is this real??" commented @nosy_rosy_8119

Yes, this is very real.

Keep in mind, we're always hoping our posts will create lively conversation, but this one was far from expected. There are many recipes that typically stir up discussions at Southern Living HQ, whether it be sugar in the cornbread or baking soda in the sweet tea (yes, we stand by the baking soda), the Pear Salad, however, caught us completely off guard. We did learn very quickly that there are different ways you, our readers, make this old-school recipe, so three Southern Living editors decided to try them out. Here were their results:

Pear Salad Recipe

Meet The Testers

• Betsy Cribb Watson is Senior Homes and Features Editor; born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and currently residing in Alabama. Betsy had never tasted the original Pear Salad.

• Brennan Long is Associate Director of Social Media; born and raised in Virginia, where she currently resides. Brennan had never heard of Pear Salad until she started working at Southern Living.

• Kimberly Holland is Associate Editorial Director; born, raised, and currently living in Alabama. While Kimberly never actually tasted the recipe, the famous salad has regularly appeared at her family gatherings.

The Original Pear Salad

While there are hundreds of Southern recipes with variations we could put to the test, we felt this was a good candidate based on all of the positive and not-so-positive reactions. We entered this taste test with full hearts and very open minds.

What The Southern Living Audience Said

• "Me and my mom used to tear these up! We loved them so much!! - signed a girl from Mississippi" - @serannmiller

• "In my Georgia household growing up, my mom would serve her pear halves on a bed of lettuce, topped with cottage and a sprinkle of cheddar for garnish."  - @leja_pb

• "Yes, yes, yes. Thousand times the yes." -@alwaysbelieve83

• "In Texas we ate it with cottage cheese and peaches!" -@fjw123012
  

"Real pear salad is pear half with shredded cheese, mayo, and a cherry. Like at the church."

Kenneth Bray

• "Mom made it and now I love it" -@bjhuey5319

• "My grandma put pears in lemon jell-o then topped it with mayo and cheese." -@tabithastalder

• "My mother made this years ago when I was growing up - exactly like this! Get mayo and cheese with each bite. DON'T KNOCK IT UNTIL YOU'VE TRIED IT" -@stonepolly1

• "My GMA would do this with pears or pineapple! Sometimes she would substitute mayo for cottage cheese" -@charms61

Variation 1: Pineapple Salad

• Made by Senior Homes & Features Editor Betsy Cribb Watson

• Tasted by Betsy and her Bible Study Group

The Recipe

This is a variation of pear salad in which the canned pears are swapped for canned pineapple rings. The other elements remain the same.

1. Place canned pineapple rings on a plate.

2. Then, top each with a generous dollop of mayonnaise (I used Duke’s).

3. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar cheese over the mayonnaise and top each ring with a maraschino cherry.

Tester Notes

Many people place a layer of lettuce leaves on the plate for presentation purposes. I didn’t have lettuce on hand, but this pineapple twist on pear salad would have benefitted from it, as the lettuce would catch the runaway mayo that tended to fall through the rings.

Recipe Inspiration

On Ivy’s original Pear Salad video, a number of our followers commented that their own families made something similar, but instead of pear, they used pineapple rings.

• “My mom served this on leaves of iceberg lettuce. She also made it with canned pineapple rings. We loved both kinds.” -@essuzy

• “I grew up in the ‘50s with this salad and one fixed the same way with pineapple rings and one with peaches and a chunk of cream cheese. They are all delicious. So don’t knock them until you try them.” -@maryssomerville

The Pineapple Salad Reactions

Though my grandmother often made pear salad for family meals at my great-grandmother’s house and it frequently made appearances at church potlucks, I’d never tried it until this week. I made the traditional pear salad first as a baseline from which to compare the pineapple variation, which trades the canned pears for canned pineapple rings.

The reaction from my testers was mixed. A couple of my Southern born-and-raised friends instantly recognized it as being a nostalgic dish they’d seen at family gatherings over the years: “This is definitely something my grandmother made,” one of them said. Others, who were also born and raised in the South, had no past experience with it—and weren’t particularly excited to try it. Two of my testers were pleasantly surprised and happily finished the entire ring: “It’s actually kind of good. I like it.”

My mayonnaise-averse friend, on the other hand, made it through one bite before shaking her head and sharing the rest of it with the trash can. For my part, I found the pineapple version much more appealing than the traditional pear salad. The acidic, tangy pineapple delivered a tart zing that made for a more dynamic and flavorful bite than the pear’s mellow sweetness. Pear (or pineapple) salad probably won’t become a staple on my own table anytime soon, but maybe next time I see it at a church potluck, I won’t automatically skip it.

Variation 2: Pear Salad With Cream Cheese And Walnuts

• Made by Associate Social Media Director Brennan Long

• Tested by Brennan and her husband

The Recipe

Instead of making pear salad for Easter Sunday, I whipped up this riff on the traditional recipe for an appetizer during the basketball games the following Monday.

1. Drain the can of pears, then set them on a paper towel to dry.

2. Place the dried paper towels on a deviled egg platter or plate

3. Use a spoon to scoop dollops of cream cheese into the pear crevices.

4. Place the pears back onto the plate and sprinkle walnuts over the cream cheese dollops

5. Serve to your (delighted!) guests

Recipe Inspiration

This recipe was inspired by one of our thousands of Instagram commenters: @sassafraslass01

The Reactions

After hearing mixed reviews of the pear-mayonnaise-shredded cheese combination, I treaded carefully into my deviled egg plate filled with this alternate version. I was pleasantly surprised by the tangy combination of pears and cream cheese, while the walnut pieces added just the right amount of crunch. I liked my first pear so much that I ate a second. I do still need to try the classic Pear Salad with mayonnaise, but I might add this easy recipe to my hosting rotation since it comes together with ingredients that are easy to keep on hand.

My husband, Thomas, was the only other person that got to enjoy this Southern fare. He was also a fan and described the two-bite dish as "A fruity snack that can serve as a light appetizer or a healthy dessert." 

Variation 3: Pear Salad With Cottage Cheese

• Made by Associate Editorial Director Kimberly Holland

• Tasted by Kimberly and her family on Easter Sunday
  

The Recipe

I followed the Pear Salad recipe but substituted cottage cheese for the mayonnaise:

1. Add lettuce and pear halves to serving plate.

2. Add a spoonful of cottage cheese into each canned pear half.

3. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese

4. Top each pear with a maraschino cherry.

Recipe Inspiration

Many commenters shared that they only recognized this recipe with cottage cheese:

• "My grandma made it with cottage cheese!?! But she always put it on a lettuce leaf!" - @theskinnybiotch

• "I'm from the South and I've had cottage cheese with fruit but never this combination lol" -@keri_no_sakura

The Reactions

The reactions were mixed. My mom, uncle, and grandmother ate seconds. My brother walked out of the house. My sister-in-law and I both tried it and were not huge fans. My 4-year-old niece refused it.

The Final Results

While the results were mixed in every one of our variations, we learned a lot from this Pear Salad experiment. For starters, we loved that Instagram opened our eyes to different ways people make and enjoy Southern recipes. Betsy, Brennan, and Kimberly most likely would not have had these recipes in mind when they were planning their menus, but they ventured out of their comfort zones to try something new. Part of the joy of Southern cooking is the community of passionate home cooks who share their ideas and inspirations – and is a wonderful way for us to connect with one another. What should our next recipe be? Let us know!

Related: 30 Southern Salad Recipes That Don't Include Any Lettuce At All

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