Pears or Pyrus communis are a pome fruit and family of the apple. One of the earliest written reports comes from Homer's suggesting as "Gifts from the Gods." Pears is in second rank to the apple as the most popular US fruit. They can be eaten and used in the same way as the apple. One diverse feature of the pear in addition the shape is the soft texture. This soft skin is the result of the starch which converts into sugar after being picked from a tree to ripen.
In US it is produced by the states in the Northwest, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and California.
The different shape of a pear says of its luscious nature. Pears of all sizes and colors are available all around the year. When it is ripen and ready to eat, the pear has a honeyed flavor and with a great smell.
Anjou, Bartlett, Bose, Comice, Forelle, and Seckel are the main varieties. Pears are available in various colors including green, golden yellow and red.
Pear Varieties
Green Anjou
Green Anjou is best when eaten fresh. Its green in color even when ripe. Its best for baking when slightly ripe. But once it ripens, its sweet, mellow flavor and abundant juice make it an excellent choice for salads and snacks.
Red Bartlett
The Red Bartlett has a very bright red skin, sweet and juicy flavor when it’s in ripe condition. The flavor and texture is the same as yellow Bartlett except that Red Bartlett’s are bit smaller. They play the role of wonderful color accent in fresh fruit-salads or desserts.
Red Anjou
Yellow Bartlett has the same flavor and texture as green Anjou. They have a unique egg shaped appearance which makes easy to differentiate from other varieties. Red Anjous are generally dark maroon in color which shows no or little change in color when ripe.
Bosc
Available August through April The Bosc has a firm, dense, yet tender flesh with brown skin that hides a deliciously, sweet and spicy flavor. Its dense flesh makes it ideal for baking and cooking. Color doesn't change as it ripens, excellent for baking. Its mild, not-too-sweet flavor is great for microwave recipes, salads, and snacks.
Yellow Bartlett
Available August through December One of the most common and popular pears, this large, bell-shaped all-purpose pear has a yellow skin sometimes blushed with pale red. It is very sweet, juicy, aromatic and perfect for salads, eating fresh, and excellent for canning or cooking. It holds its shape and flavor in baking and cooking.
Forelle
Available September through February Slightly larger than a Seckel, with freckled skin and a red blush. For what they lack in size, Forelle pears make up in sweet flavor and beautiful appearance. They're an excellent snack or lunch-box pear…sweet, juicy, and crisp.
Comice
Available August through March Is hard, green, and rounder than a Bartlett, but similar in flavor and texture. One of the largest, sweetest and juiciest varieties. Best used fresh in salads, served as an elegant dessert pear, or as an excellent accompaniment with cheese.
Seckel
Available August through February Tiny pears with ultra-sweet flavor, so sweet in fact they are called "sugar pears." Maroon and olive green in color, with no color change when ripened. They are an excellent choice for children's snacks, pickling, or as a garnish.
Did you know that there are over 3,000 varieties of pears? Of those, only a few are grown commercially and the pears available to you may depend on where you live and the time of year.
Healthy Diet
Fresh pears provide dietary fiber, much of it in the form of Pectin. A pear with 166 grams weight offers 2.32 grams of crude fiber, and 4 grams of dietary fiber, among which is 41% is pectin. No calories in Fiber and it is a essential element for a healthy diet, that helps to sustain blood sugar levels and promots regularity. High concentration of fiber may also help to reduce the risk of colon cancer and can help to reduce serum cholesterol. Therefore, pears are a good source of fiber.
How to buy fresh Pears?
The most popular variety of pear is the Bartlett, which
is produced in great quantities (in California, Washington,
and Oregon) both for canning and for sale as a
fresh fruit. With the aid of cold storage, Bartlett pears
are available from early August through November.
Several fall and winter varieties of pears are grown in
Washington, Oregon, and California, and shipped to
fresh fruit markets. These varieties - Anjou, Bosc,
Winter Nellis, and Comice - keep well in cold
storage and are available over a long period, from
November until May.
Look for: Firm pears of all varieties. The color
depends on variety. For Bartletts, look for a pale
yellow to rich yellow color; Anjou or Comice - light
green to yellowish-green; Bosc - greenish-yellow to
brownish-yellow (the brown cast is caused by skin
russeting, a characteristic of the Bosc pear); Winter
Nellis - medium to light green.
Pears which are hard when you find them in the food
store will probably ripen if kept at room temperature,
but it is wise to select pears that have already begun to
soften - to be reasonably sure that they will ripen
satisfactorily.
Avoid: Wilted or shriveled pears with dull-appearing
skin and slight weakening of the flesh near the stem,
which indicates immaturity. These pears will not
ripen. Also avoid spots on the sides or blossom ends
of the pear, which means that corky tissue may be
underneath.
Customer Reviews
Reviewed By: sherly
Comments: its a wonderful compilation of important info
Reviewed By: Rosalie Polom
Comments: We have a pear tree that grew out of nowhere.
Add your Review
Site Search
A strawberry is not an actual berry, but a banana is.
Orangutans love mangoes
Apples float in water because they are 25% air.
Tomatoes are a fruit not a vegetable. Tomatoes are the most popular fruits in the world.
Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
An average strawberry has around 200 seeds
Pumpkins and avocados are fruits not a vegetable.
Dark green vegetables include more vitamin C than light green color vegetables
Banana is not a fruit in reality, it is a herb
Because bananas are easy to digest and are very nutritious they are the first fruit offered to babies.
Osage orange fruits are used to repel cockroaches
An apple tree can produce up to 400 apples a year
Bilberries are supposed to help improve nighttime vision.
According to the Dead Sea scrolls cherry seeds have satanic power
Many years ago explorers used watermelons to carry water on long expeditions
Mangoes are the most favorite and number 1 fruit in the world.
Strawberries and cashews are the only fruits that have their seeds on the outside unlike all other fruits which have their seeds inside
Kiwi contains twice as much Vitamin C as an orange
Oranges contain antioxidants that help fight the free radicals that damage and age our skin
Including fruit and vegetables in one's daily diet can lessen the chances of miscarriage by almost half of the frequency, says a new research in London.
Eating more fruits and vegetables could significantly reduce the risk of many chronic diseases, high B.P, obesity, heart disease and some cancers.
In the 19th century British sailors ate limes to prevent Scurvy
There are over 7000 different types of apples grown all over the world.
Unlike bananas grapes can no longer ripen once picked.
More than 300 banana-related accidents happened in Britain in 2001 mostly involving people slipping on skins.
You can speed up the ripening of a pineapple by standing it upside down (on the leafy end).
Lemons can kill bacteria-as they have high content of acid which makes them suitable for cleaning.
You can make furniture with Pear wood (its hard).
Some horticulturists suspect that the banana was the earth's first fruit.
The Adam's apple is so-called coz of the idea that it was created when the forbidden fruit got stuck
in Adam's throat when he swallowed it.
The cabbage encloses nearly as much water as watermelon. Watermelon contains 92% water where cabbage is 90% and carrots are 87%
A banana ripens quickly (overnight), when you put it into a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato.
You can make nitroglycerin by peanut oil, which is a main part of dynamite.
The leaves of raspberry is used fresh or dried as herbal teas to regulate menstrual cycles
Lime oil is useful to cool fevers. It can also stimulate and refresh a tired mind and helps with depression
A durian is one of the world's biggest fruit with a strong smell
Avocado leaves are harmful to animals and the fruits may also poisonous to some birds
Dried fruits contain more calories than fresh fruits. Since drying process takes out water and volume
An apple is a very refreshing tonic for oily skin. It makes an excellent remedy for fine wrinkles, cracked skin, itching and inflammation
Eating fresh figs during pregnancy helps from prolonged labor and weakness after childbirth
Gibbons prefer to eat fruits twice a day. It normally loves to eat ripe, sugary, juicy fruits like figs.
A study reveals avocados are the world's most nutritious fruit
Research says eating grapefruit in the morning will helps to lose an average of 3.6 pounds. It also protect from diabetes.
Babaco is gorgeous torpedo shaped fruit. It's also named as champagne fruit since it has a fizzy flesh.
Sapodilla is a uniquely tasted fruit. It had a soft brown flesh which flavors like a sweet mix of brown sugar and root beer.
Bilimbi fruit is similar to star fruit. The tree of Bilimbi is more cold-sensitive than the carambola tree. The fruit is more effective for several human ailments.
chempedak fruit is really not too big. It just has the shape of long water melon but the whole fruit is only about 3 Kg.
Damson fruit is more effective to create fruit paste or cheese. It's perfectly made for Christmas treat.
The name pine-apple was the original name for a pine cone (grows on pine trees). Because the fruit pineapple looked like a huge pine cone, it too was called a pine-apple.
Pineapples contain an enzyme that is used in blood tests. Fibers in pineapple leaves are used to make rope and a cloth called pino.
Kiwis were once known as Chinese gooseberries.
Eating an apple is a more reliable method of staying awake than consuming a cup of coffee. The natural sugar in an apple is more potent than the caffeine in coffee.
Pineapples are berries, just like strawberries and blueberries.
A half-cup of figs has as much calcium as a half-cup of milk.
There are over 200 different known species of raspberries but only 2 species are grown on a large scale.
Blackberry juice was used to dye cloth navy blue and indigo.
Currant juice can be used to soothe sore throats and colds.
The juiciest, most delicious oranges in the world are grown in Florida.
Eggplants are actually fruits, and classified botanically as berries.