Pear
Family Rosaceae
Pyrus communis, the pear (P. communis 1), is the fruit of a small tree, closely related to the apple, with single leaves and white flowers (P. communis 2), native to Europe and western Asia. The pear, like the apple, is a pome with a thin outer skin; a fleshy part derived from the receptacle, and a central horny core that contains the seeds. Pears differ from apples by the presence of sclereids in their flesh, giving it a kind of granular texture. Especially cooking pears are rich in sclereids. Pears also are more elongated than apples (P. communis 3), sweeter in taste and with a thicker stalk. Pears never achieved the popularity of apples, mainly because their poorer keeping qualities. As is the case with apples, most high growing varieties (P. communis 4) are replaced by low growing ones (P. communis 5) in order to save on the cost of labour.
Distribution and use
The ancient Romans already recognised several kinds of pears, but it seems that they were of poor quality and used for cooking only. Only in the last half of the 18th century modern varieties were developed in France and Belgium and those are still grown today. Developing new pears is more difficult than raising new apples. Sweet pears are mainly eaten fresh, and partly made into preserves and canned. Dried pears were very popular in earlier days. The biggest producers of pears are France, the US and Germany. The main exporters are South Africa, Australia and New Zealand; countries were the pear was introduced only about 100 years ago.