Juicy Bells

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This fruit makes legends ring (Ingredient Special on Williams Pear)

I love pears. Not only the fruit, but also the trees. They have a special, elegant, yet friendly air about them. If you have a pear tree in the garden, you will know what I mean. In spring, they have those pretty blossoms, always very popular with bees and wasps. Then, later, the leaves and the small fruits develop that special glow. And in autumn, the sight of the juicy bells is just marvelous.

Of course, they do need a little care, making sure the blossoms do not get invaded by ravenous larvae or the leaves taken over by rampant fungus. You need to cut and “train” the trees. But it is totally worth it, and pear trees can get quite old, as I know from personal experience in my grandparent’s garden.

The pear fruit – same as the apple, by the way – has its origin in Asia. From there, it was taken to Europe and bred into common shape. The Romans, who loved fruit, might have had something to do with that voyage. One of outcomes of that adventure was the “European Pear”. Which is the ancestor of what has been one of the most commonly known pear varieties for centuries: The Williams Pear – Williams Bon Chrétien by full name, or “Bartlett Pear”, as it is known by in America.

As for the story of the pear, there are quite a few versions around. One is about a holy man (hence “Bon Chrétien”) who gave pear seeds to a dying king in the 15th century, before the new times brought the light of reason. A pear tree (probably a Bon Chrétien) traveled across the great seas in the 17-hundreds to an orchard in Massachusetts, where it has been growing ever since. Two other stories tell about a tree that grew from either a seed or as a wildling a century later, and then was passed on to breeders, who catalogued and named it after themselves. Quite an adventurous fruit.

The role of the Williams Pear in culinary history, on the other hand, is quite evident. You can tell this by taking a look at the pictures of anything made from pears in your cookbook. Or, at the label of any liquid that might contain this fruit. Williams Pears everywhere. The taste is iconic. The shape and color of the Williams Pear come to mind if one thinks of a pear.

So, this is the pear of pears. And it definitely rings a bell in us.

Side Notes

  • I got some of my information from the ‘Hortus Camdenensis’. Which is an illustrated catalogue of plants that were grown between about 1820 and 1861 by Sir William Macarthur in his large estate, Camden Park, in New South Wales, Australia. I really love to look up the old catalogues – the one from the Royal Horticultural Society is always great, as well. The pictures are just beautiful, but it’s also very interesting to see how people, who are very fond of plants describe a plain fruit.
  • There, of course, is a recipe to accompany this Ingredient Special. But you will find it in the posts of next week, together with the “Sidewalk Scenes” of September. It turns out, I wanted to change the recipe last minute. I do that sometimes. For it’s always time to go on an adventure. Especially with a well-traveled fruit, like the Williams Bon Chrétien, aka Bartlett pear.