Le Voov! Fruit: Royal Riviera Pears ? ? ?
Each year, for as long as I can remember, our dear friends *Kathy and John have sent us a lovely box of Royal Riviera pears from Harry & David in Oregon. If you have never experienced this amazingly sweet and juicy pear, it is truly one to savor. (Please see my About page for details regarding *The Sisters ?)
Apparently, this varietal was brought to Oregon’s Rogue Valley from France in 1897, where it has flourished ever since. Interestingly, pear trees are one of the most long-lived in an orchard, living up to 250-years. Originally grown to produce hard cider, today they are mainly incorporated into desserts and salads.
Royal Riviera Pears contain low concentrations of lignin, making the flesh particularly soft, creamy, and aromatic, not gritty or sand-like in texture. This makes them ideal for salads or set along side a dry, strong, rather sharp variety of cheese partnered with a loaf of San Francisco French bread. I also find them a lovely pairing (pardon the pun!) on occasion with a small piece of dark chocolate of 70% coca or more to offset the incredible sweetness of the fruit.
A Few Fun Facts About Pears:
The Pyrus genus is made up of about 20 species and is related to the apple. Strangely, it is also a distant relative of the rose family (Rosaceae). Today pears are widely grown throughout Europe, America and Asia, yet being an ancestor of the apple, they all originated from a small valley in Afghanistan. Pears are usually picked green as they have the ability to ripen off the tree. So, if you want to know if your pears are ripe, simply test that the flesh at the top stem is slightly soft to find the perfectly ripe pear. Enjoy the splendor!
