You know that saying “it’s like comparing apples and oranges”? Meaning, “you can’t compare these two things because they are obviously totally different!” I have always found that a poorly formulated saying. I compare apples and oranges frequently– every time I get the question “what kind of juice would you like?” for example. “It’s like comparing apples and shoelaces” would be more like it. But here’s the thing– Dutch people have made this saying EVEN WORSE! In Dutch the saying is “it’s like comparing apples and pears,” which is absolutely ridiculous because apples and pears are pretty much interchangeable. Just to prove my point, here are three recipes in which you can use apples OR pears one-to-one with no modifications needed.
PEAR: Elegant vanilla-pear tart
APPLE: Apples with caramel dip
APPLE: Dutch-style apple turnovers (appelflappen)