There’s something rather lovely about a pear tree in autumn.
After spending spring covered in blossom and summer quietly getting on with the business of growing fruit, it suddenly becomes the centre of attention. Branches hang heavy, the first windfalls appear in the grass and everyone starts giving the fruit an occasional hopeful inspection.
Is it ripe yet?
Probably not.
But that, perhaps, is part of the charm of pears. They don’t like to be rushed.
And a pear is not simply a pear. Look beyond the familiar fruit bowl and there’s an extraordinary collection of pear varieties to discover, each with its own flavour, texture and character. Some are sweet and buttery, others delicately perfumed, while traditional cooking pears can be remarkably hard until a few hours in the kitchen persuade them otherwise.
So, from the dependable ‘Conference’ to the wonderfully named ‘Doyenné du Comice’, here are some of the pear varieties worth getting to know.
A brief history of pears in Britain
Pears have been part of the British landscape for a very long time.
They are thought to have been cultivated here since Roman times, although it took centuries for pear growing and breeding to gather pace. By the 1640s, around 60 pear cultivars were in production in Britain.
Things became considerably more ambitious from there. By the 19th century, 622 pear cultivars had been recorded growing in the RHS gardens at Chiswick House in west London.
Even the Domesday Book of 1086 mentions old pear trees being used as boundary markers.
Imagine a tree being such a permanent part of the landscape that instead of saying ‘turn left at the gate’, you could effectively say ‘the boundary is by that old pear tree’.
Some of those historic varieties have disappeared from everyday life, while others have survived in gardens and orchards, quietly carrying their stories into another autumn.
‘Conference’: the familiar favourite
If you were asked to draw a pear, there’s a good chance you’d draw something resembling a ‘Conference’.
Long and elegant, with green skin often marked with brown russeting, it’s one of Britain’s most familiar pear varieties. It may not be the showiest fruit in the bowl, but what it lacks in flamboyance it makes up for in dependability.
The RHS describes ‘Conference’ as a reliable, heavy cropper producing sweet, juicy fruit, with a season of use from October to November. It also grows relatively well in cooler conditions, which goes some way to explaining its popularity with British gardeners.
When fully ripe, the flesh is juicy and sweet, making it just as welcome eaten fresh as it is in the kitchen.
In other words, ‘Conference’ is the dependable friend of the pear world. Not terribly interested in making a fuss, but almost always there when you need it.
Best for: eating fresh, baking, poaching and everyday cooking.
‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’: an early taste of pear season
The name might sound rather grand, but ‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’ is one of the great pleasures of early pear season.
Usually shortened simply to ‘Williams’, this hardy pear is generally ready around mid-September. Its fruit has a distinctive musky flavour and, when properly ripe, plenty of that wonderful pear fragrance that announces itself before you’ve even taken the first bite.
Like many pears, timing matters.
There is a glorious point at which the flesh is ripe and juicy without becoming overly soft. Catch it at just the right moment and you’ll understand why waiting for pears to ripen has occupied generations of gardeners.
Miss that moment and, well, you may be making pudding sooner than planned.
Best for: eating fresh, poaching, preserves and puddings.
‘Doyenné du Comice’: the luxurious one
If ‘Conference’ is the reliable old friend, ‘Doyenné du Comice’ is the guest who arrives wearing rather nice shoes.
Usually known simply as ‘Comice’, this is a dessert pear with melting, juicy flesh and an exquisitely perfumed flavour. It needs a sunny position to fruit well and tends to produce more moderate crops than some varieties, so it asks a little more of the gardener.
The reward is a pear that feels distinctly luxurious.
Its soft, buttery texture means it needs very little help at the table. Serve it simply, perhaps alongside a good cheese and a handful of walnuts, and there’s really no need to interfere too much.
Sometimes the best recipes are the ones that barely qualify as recipes.
Its season of use runs from late October to the end of November, making ‘Comice’ one of the pleasures of later autumn.
Best for: eating fresh, cheeseboards and simple autumn desserts.
‘Concorde’: the best of both worlds
‘Concorde’ may be a more modern pear, but it has earned its place among the classics.
Its flavour is sweet, buttery and fragrant, while the tree itself has the useful habit of being reliable, relatively compact and quick to begin fruiting.
That makes it a particularly appealing choice for gardeners who would like a pear tree without necessarily handing over the entire garden to it.
The fruit is generally enjoyed from October into November and works beautifully eaten fresh, sliced into a tart or served with cheese.
A good all-rounder, in other words – which is often exactly what you want from a pear.
Best for: eating fresh, baking, salads and cheeseboards.
‘Beurré Hardy’: a pear with perfume
Some pears are remembered for sweetness. ‘Beurré Hardy’ is remembered for fragrance.
This vigorous, hardy variety produces russet-brown fruit with a melting texture and a distinctive perfume. Older RHS descriptions go one step further, noting a rose-water fragrance.
That’s quite a reputation for something growing on a tree.
There is a little patience involved. ‘Beurré Hardy’ can be slow to start bearing fruit, but once established it is valued as a hardy pear and a useful pollinator for other varieties.
And perhaps patience suits pears rather well.
They have never been fruit in much of a hurry. The trees blossom in spring, develop their fruit through summer and then, when autumn arrives, still expect us to wait until they’re quite ready.
Best for: eating fresh and serving simply when fully ripe.
Cooking pears: when hard fruit is exactly what you want
Not every pear is destined for the fruit bowl.
Traditional culinary varieties were grown because they behaved beautifully when cooked, and ‘Catillac’ is a fine example.
Its raw flesh is hard and slightly gritty – hardly the description to make you abandon everything and take a bite – but slow cooking transforms it. The fruit softens and can turn from pink to a deeper red as it cooks.
This is where old cooking pears come into their own. Poached or stewed slowly, their firmness becomes an advantage, allowing the fruit to hold together while absorbing other flavours.
They’re a reminder that our ancestors didn’t choose fruit solely for how good it tasted straight from the tree. An orchard was also a working larder, providing different varieties for eating, cooking, preserving and drinking.
Heritage pears and the stories hidden in orchards
Old orchards are rather like living libraries.
Every tree has a story attached to it: a place where a variety was first grown, a flavour once familiar to generations of families, or a fruit particularly suited to a local dish or drink.
At Moseley Old Hall in Staffordshire, for example, the orchard contains more than 20 heritage varieties of apples and pears, many of which have been grown in Britain since at least the 17th century.
Among them is the wonderfully named ‘Tettenhall Dick’.
Established more than 200 years ago and named after the Tettenhall area of Wolverhampton, this local pear produces small, dry fruits that have been described as ‘hard as bricks’.
Not perhaps the strongest invitation to tuck straight in.
But that’s missing the point. ‘Tettenhall Dick’ is particularly suited to making perry, the traditional drink made from pears.
It’s a wonderful example of why conserving heritage fruit varieties matters. A pear that seems rather unpromising in the fruit bowl might have been treasured for an entirely different purpose.
How to tell when pears are ready to pick
Pears have one final trick up their sleeves: many are best picked before they’re ready to eat.
Rather than waiting for fruit to become soft on the tree, pears are usually harvested while still firm. A useful harvesting technique is to cup the fruit gently in your hand, lift it slightly and give it a careful twist. When ready for picking, it should come away from the tree fairly easily with its stalk intact.
And then?
More waiting.
The RHS advises leaving pears to ripen indoors for up to a week before eating, although late-season pears can also be stored.
It can feel slightly counter-intuitive when a perfectly good-looking pear is sitting on the kitchen counter asking you not to eat it yet.
But patience is generally rewarded.
Which pear variety is best?
That depends entirely on what you’re planning to do with it.
For a reliable garden pear with plenty of uses, ‘Conference’ is difficult to beat. If you prefer something beautifully soft, buttery and perfumed, look for ‘Doyenné du Comice’. For an earlier pear with a distinctive flavour, try ‘Williams’ Bon Chrétien’.
‘Concorde’ makes an excellent all-rounder, while ‘Beurré Hardy’ brings fragrance and character. And if you’re planning some slow autumn cooking, traditional culinary pears such as ‘Catillac’ deserve a place in the kitchen.
There are many more to discover. Names such as ‘Pitmaston Duchess’, ‘Louise Bonne of Jersey’, ‘Joséphine de Malines’ and ‘Beurré Superfin’ hint at just how varied the pear family can be.
They sound less like the contents of an orchard and more like the guest list for a particularly intriguing dinner party.
A fruit worth waiting for
Perhaps pears have always had to work a little harder for our attention.
Apples offer instant gratification: pick one up, give it a polish and crunch.
Pears require rather more negotiation.
They need picking at the right time, a little patience indoors and, occasionally, rescuing from the fruit bowl at precisely the right moment.
But bite into a perfectly ripe pear – fragrant, sweet and dripping with juice – and suddenly all that waiting seems entirely reasonable.
So this autumn, look beyond the usual bag of pears and see what else you can find. Try a variety you’ve never tasted before. Seek out a heritage orchard. Poach a few slowly for pudding. Or simply eat one when it reaches that fleeting moment of perfect ripeness.
Preferably somewhere within reach of a napkin.
Further Reading: My Garden Journal & Notes
