Any way to save this butternut squash (pear) soup?

Cafe Society
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A long time ago, and early in the friendship, I made a lovely butternut squash and pear soup from a recipe someone had posted here on the boards, and it unfairly impressed my friends with how tasty it was compared to my actual cooking skills. Luckily, they had a few years to get to know me and realize that the soup was just a fluke.

I made it again later, and didn’t like it so much, but it was fine.

I made it recently (a few months ago), and froze the leftovers. The first bowl was okay, but not nearly as good as before. My roommate really liked it, but she didn’t have subsequent bowls. At this point, I still have several bowls worth in the freezer, and I can’t bring myself to eat them. They get grosser and grosser with every attempt.

As far as I can tell, something went wrong with the pears in the process. It’s an extremely pear-y taste that is putting me off, and maybe it’s a little sour as well? Honestly, except for the “wrong pear” flavor, I can’t really remember as I haven’t been willing to pull this stuff out of the freezer. I’m not willing to eat it as is, but I feel terrible about throwing it out. Especially as I’m unemployed and really ought to just choke it down. The problem is that it’s really stomach turning. (To me. It’s possible, nay, probable, that I’m just a freak, and some normal human being would enjoy the soup just fine.)

So what I’m looking for are suggestions on how to improve the soup as a soup, or how to turn it into a sauce that doesn’t suck as much or something like that. Basically, some way to make this soup edible so I don’t have to toss it, but I also don’t have to eat it “as is”.

Anyway, I’m going to post this thread without the recipe for the moment, in case the owner wants to post it (and so I can look for a post of it so I can properly attribute the owner). If it’s needed and I can’t find the original version, or the owner doesn’t come back to claim it, I’ll post it again later.

It really was divine the first time I made it. I’m not quite sure how I failed this time. Maybe the pears were overripe.
ETA: Unexpectedly, I found the recipe as posted here on the boards within the edit time limit. It’s Shayna’s recipe originally, and I just want to reiterate that it’s really good under normal conditions. I’m certain this is somehow my screw up.

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There was an unusual fascination with butternut squash soup here on these boards. I made some, and bizarrely, it came out too sweet. I threw it into the freezer. I had it one more time, and finally tossed it out. I hate tossing out food because I figure it should go through my digestive system, and any waste is hurting the planet.

But, I couldn’t think of anything to save it (salt does not cancel sugar), and it was destined for the garbage.

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Hmm, somthing to cancel the sweet. How about some pureed potato or cook up some plantains and puree them to add some body to the soup. You could also add some curry powder or paste. That might work well with the sweetness of the pear. Some ginger might do the trick, ginger and pear are mated well in Korean food.

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MikeG, thanks for the suggestions. I’m trying to remember if it was a “sweet” sensation or just an odd, stomach-turning “wrong pear” flavor. I’m inclined to say the second, but that could probably be caused by too much sweetness. I just don’t know enough about food chemistry.

Darryl Lict, I don’t recall the frenzy of butternut squash soup obsession myself, but you might be right. And your recollection that it was too sweet certainly supports MikeG’s supposition. It’s just very hard for me to believe that anything can be too sweet for me. I’m a very classically “addicted to sweets” person. There’s a bread recipe I linked to in the other thread that many people like a lot, once they cut down the sugar. Me, I like it a lot just as it is.

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If it’s a “wrong” flavor, maybe the pear component went rancid. When in doubt, toss it out. Food is cheap, a lot cheaper than a day or two of sickness from bad food.

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First off, let me tell you how happy I am that you’ve used the word “rancid”. There is an ongoing debate between me, my boyfriend, my best friend, her husband and most of my friends about whether people use that word regularly. Mostly, it’s all of them against me. Now I can tell them about yet another person who backs me up. And I’ve met you in person, so I know you exist!

Anyway, it’s certainly possible that’s the problem with the pear. It’s very intensely pear flavored, more so than a pear would be, for example. Yet, I like pears. Maybe I should toss it, but I’m having guilt.

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Never feel guilt about tossing food that might be bad. Trust me, I’ve had food poisoning and I’d pay 10X what the food cost to not go through that again.

I use rancid mostly in connection to foods with either a high fat content, spoiled for fruits or vegetables but the meaning is the same in my eyes; edible foods that have gone off and are no longer healthy to eat.

In the case of fruits, it’s a fine line between spoiled and fermented. I am well aware that in many cultures what I call spoiled is called a delicacy but if the taste turns you off, don’t eat it. It’s no good throwing good money (or food) after bad.

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Hey, I just appreciate that you use rancid! :smiley:

You’re probably right about the soup, and at least it would recover a bunch of my tupperware for chili and the like. But I do have a twinge of guilt. However, soon I will have tupperware!

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It’s doubtful that the pear component went rancid as rancidity is the oxidation of fats and pears are fat free. Perhaps it did something else funky though.

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It definitely did something funky. I have no idea what, though, and I’m not really willing to serve it to friends as they visit to get their opinions…