By Caroline Schaller

[World of Chefs] [www.thuries.fr]

Caton the Old (234-149 BC) knew six varieties of pears; today there are more of 5000. For this profusion, a simple explanation: the graft. Because, for all these pears, only one ancestor exists, born in central Asia and appearing in Europe in the NeolithicPeriod. The Chinese were the first to cultivate this fruit. The Romans excelled in the art of grafting and, in as they conquered Europe, took these precious fruits to their new colonies. But the world would wait until the 18th century and Nicolas Hardenpont (a Belgian monk) to see the sugary varieties that are the origin of our present pears. Because of the 5000 recorded, only 10 have real gustatory qualities.

Today, new hybrids continue to be created. The P6R31A18 hybrid is the result of a graft between the Conference and the Doyenne of winter; the K2R4A68 hybrid represents the Mrs. Ballet and the Doyenne Perrault. And all it leads to very official tastings in order to determine the hybrids that may be sold. Thus, these last years, some hybrids have come upon the market: Harrow Sweet, Concorde, Cascade, Delbarexquise. Again little known, these new pears all have wonderful qualities.

The pear and gastronomy

Salty, sugary, roasted, poached, whole, shredded, poached, fried, caramelized, in mash, in tinfoil... the pear is suitable to all culinary ideas. It is sufficient to choose the variety that answers best your desires according to his/her/its qualities.

The pears of summer

Mid-July to September:

• Doctor Jules Guyot: Sugary and juicy; it is a fruit of thirst.

• The Williams: Fine, perfect for sherbet and brandy.

The pears of winter

September to December:

• Buttered Hardy: Juicy and sugary, with a full taste. It has a thick skin and should be peeled before eating. 

• Louise Good: Yellow, with a stretched out shape. Its flesh is fine and slightly acid; its skin is thick. 

October to December:

• Alexandrine: A fine skin, with very sweet and dry flesh. One can deposit it whole or can shred in a sauce. 

January:

• Comice: A fine and smooth skin, soft and fragile flesh, perfect for a mash or sauce. 

• The Conference: Long with a thick skin. The flesh is fine but resistant; good for poaching.

February:

• The Pass Crassane: Round with a thick and rough skin. The flesh is juicy, slightly acidulous and resistant; it can be fried, poached or caramelized.

The Best Associations

• The pear and poultry: With the duck and game fowl, the pear can be served fried, poached or mashed. 

• The pear and cheese: The pear begs to be baked in pastry with cheese. It also may be used pie, au gratin or in salad. 

• The pear and wine: A most successful marriage! Choose a rich enough red wine. 

• The pear and chocolate: The classic of the classics, the pear Beautiful Helen. Use a scoop of vanilla ice cream, half pear poached in the syrup, chocolate melted to coat it all

• The pear in drinks The simplest is pear juice. But pear brandy is certainly the most famous brandy. The Williams variety has been perfected for distillation. But as the pear is made of 90% of water, you need 25 kg of pears for just one liter of alcohol!

Did you know it?

The Pass Crassane and his/her/its drop of wax... A drop of wax, which smears the extremity of the peduncle, is supposed to improve the preservartion of the fruit. 

The "Buttered" term compares a pear to melting flesh. It was first used in the 16th and is used in a good number of pear names: Buttered Hardy, Buttered Bosc, Buttered Bachelor, Buttered Royal, Buttered Durondeau. 

The “hit” pear is a very old recipe made with pears produced after a very hard winter. These pears are scalded and peeled and dried over two days. They are then flattened and placed back in the oven until they are dehydrated completely. They will keep a very long time. 

"Pear bread " is a tradition practiced by bakers in the Moselle valley. From the end July to the mid-November, grown,inedible pears are cut into thin slices and placed in bread dough.