Tuesday 24 October 2017

24 October: Pears

The French Revolutionary calendar celebrated pears on this date. Here are a few things you might not know about pears.

  1. Pear trees belong to the genus Pyrus, a member of the Rose family. Hence the word pyriform means pear-shaped.
  2. Pears have been around a long time. They were cultivated in China as far back as 1134BC, and a pear tree was planted in the Massachusetts colony in 1620.
  3. In China, the pear was a symbol of immortality and the destruction of a pear tree symbolised untimely death. It was considered unlucky to share a pear with someone, because the words for “to share a pear” were the same as “to separate”, so doing so would mean the end of a friendship.
  4. There are about 3,000 varieties of pear. One of these is the Bartlett, the most popular variety of pear in the United States. This variety is known by a different name in Europe - the Williams Bon Chrétien or the Williams. It has a different name in the US because a Bostonian named Enoch Bartlett bought a pear orchard. He didn't know the pears already had a name, so he began distributing them as Bartlett pears.
  5. In the Odyssey, Homer called the pear a “gift from the Gods.” The pear was sacred to two goddesses in Greek mythology – Hera and Aphrodite. It was also sacred to the corresponding Roman goddesses, Juno and Venus, and to Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitfulness. The ancient Greeks used pears as a remedy for nausea.
  6. A medium sized pear has 100 calories. It is also rich in Potassium and contains Vitamin C.
  7. Before tobacco was introduced in Europe people used to smoke pear leaves.
  8. In the 1700s people called pears “butter fruit” because of their soft, buttery texture.
  9. Cider made from pears is called Perry. Towns with Perry as part of their name would at one time have had an abundance of pear trees.
  10. Architect's rulers are made from pear wood because it doesn't warp.

See also: Apples



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