Nowhere has the saying “Necessity is the Mother of Invention” proven so true as it does in prison. I had the opportunity to sharpen my culinary skills while working in the maintenance department of the metal fabrication factory at Solano State Prison, where we built snow plows for Cal-Trans, metal lockers for the California Highway Patrol and stainless steel tables for other prisons.
Needless to say, on Fridays I was “The Guy” because of my original recipe for fruit turnovers.
During the week, five friends and I would save, smuggle and stash all the ingredients required for my weekly fruit turnovers. It took every day of the week to acquire the ingredients I needed. Wednesday’s lunch was Bartlett Pears, Thursday’s pancake breakfast brought maple syrup and margarine, and from Friday’s breakfast, two flour tortillas.
Using a broken coffee pot the prison guards had thrown away, I altered it to use as a Hot Pot. First, I would chop five or six cups of the pears, put them into the Hot Pot, add eight packets of maple syrup and let it boil for 30+ minutes or until it was the consistency of a thick jam. Then, I put four or five heaping tablespoons of the “jam” on the center of a laid out flour tortilla, and I put butter or margarine around the edge to seal the tortilla when folded over the fruit jam.
I used an upside down stainless steel seat from a stainless steel table as a cooking pan. Before they went in the oven, I buttered the top of the jam-filled tortilla and for a lid, I used thick, brown, shipping paper.
As an oven, I used the big walk-in ovens, primarily used for the painting process known as “Powder Coat.” I set the oven to 350 F for 8 to 12 minutes and we then devoured a little slice of heaven.
Needless to say, on Fridays I was “The Guy” because of my original recipe for fruit turnovers. Finally, a good reason to be popular in prison.
Fruit Turnovers
Ingredients
- 2 lb 6-7 medium ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and chopped in ¼” pieces (to yield about 5 cups chopped)
- 6 Tablespoons dark or very dark maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon room temperature butter or margarine
- 2 large flour tortillas
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F.
- Place the chopped pears and maple syrup in a medium-sized saucepan and cook over medium heat. Stir occasionally, using a wooden spoon to help break up the fruit. Once the mixture begins to thicken (about 20 to 30 minutes), reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 20 to 30 minutes. The pear mixture will be thick and jam-like with soft chunks of fruit. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
- Place the tortillas on a parchment-lined sheet pan and using a pastry brush, coat the edges of the tortillas generously with butter. Place ¼ cup of jam in the center of each tortilla, fold over and use the tines of a fork to press and seal the edges together. Brush additional butter on top of each turnover.
- Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until tortillas are lightly browned. Let cool slightly before cutting each turnover into three wedges.
- Leftover filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Recipe Photos
