These types of are most commonly found at your local grocery store.  These different pears have similar taste and feel.  So they can be change intermittently for cooking. Heck they even look alike.  Remember the not all plants ripen at the same time.  You can tell by the firmness and the different fruits.  Some are sweeter when they are firm and sometimes it is the other way around.

5 common pear types

Anjou: Anjou pears are typically green or red.  These pears are round and squatty almost like an apple but its shorter cousin.  They have a big think stem that is deeply rooted in the center of the pear.  Many people use them for all types of cooking be it salads or baking pies.  They are a very versatile fruit.  Personally I like to just snack on them.  Don’t worry it is to check and see if these are ripe or not. They will be softer than normal around the stem.  Put your finger on the rim of the pear and press down.

Asian:  This is not the name of the fruit!  This is a generalization.  I am basically grouping them together as they are all a lot alike.  I will be talking about each pear type at a later date.  Honestly Asian pears are a dime a dozen.  The Asian pears most often found in super markets are shape much like the apple.  With a green skin that has an olive color it is slightly dusty in shade.  They are more crunchy then the average pear.  It is a great idea to use this pear in salads or something where crunch is lacking.

Bartlett: Not a lot I can cover on this time honored classic that your parents probably took to school in their lunch boxes.  This is the type of pear used in the pictures of dictionaries around the world.  It has dusty lime or yellow skin that is golden in color when it becomes ripe.    Bartletts are a soft and pear that ripen very fast.  It is important to eat them soon because they will become mushy if over ripened.  Bartletts are great for snacking and sweet pies.

Tasty pears

Bosc: Bosc pears are very special they have a different shape than usual pears.  The neck of this pear is long and very unshapely.  It has the thickest brown skin of the lot.  I do not eat the skin myself because it is very though.  It is very important to make sure this pear is ripe before eating.   These are best used in baking as they don’t have to be 100% ripe in order to use.  It is a little hard to tell if they are ripe.

Comice: Comice are short and fat, and circular in shape with thick necks and thick stems.  Comice pears are commonly green but sometimes have red stripes.  The meat of this pear is famously described as creamy.  The ritzy pear is normally served with cheeses or wine pairings.

This particular type of pear tree does not produce fruit that are edible. It is less than one cm in size. They are round and very hard. They only get eaten by birds when the frost finally softens them. The birds then scatter seeds around in their droppings.  The Callery pear during the summers has dark green leaves.  During autumn the leaves change into very bright colors that are quite beautiful to look at.  The colors consist of red, pink, purple, bronze, yellow and orange.  Quite often an individual leaf develops a beautiful display of multiple colors. The leaves don’t develop their full color until late in the fall. The full color of the Callery pear leaves are rarely seen because the frost from winter kills normally kills the leaves beforehand. These trees are very resilient from sickness or fungus.   Unfortunately this type of tree is not very sturdy and is prone to storms.  Normally this tree is easily killed or severally damaged by storms or high winds.

Callery Pear

In North America the Callery pear is planted as ornamental trees for their beauty. This pear plant is commonly planted in urban and suburban communities. This plant can grow in many different soil types that have different variables of soil acidity. The plant can tolerate different drainage levels as well.  These pear trees a planted in many different law offices, shopping centers, and upscale business plazas. They are also common in industrial parks.

What makes the Callery pear tree damage so easy in a storm? Well there are two main reasons. One the way the branches grow.  The braches of this tree grow very odd.  Often forking so many times it will start to resemble a lightning bolt.  When that starts to happen the branches lose strength at the knuckles.  Pruning this plant from an early stage can prevent the plant from becoming brittle and weak. The second problem is storm damage.  When the snowfalls and ice storms form they weigh heavy on the branches. Also high winds during thunderstorms cause the branches to break.  Ultimately all of the above shorten the life span of the pear tree. They live less than twenty-five years.

Bristol Cross and Merton Pride are the newest variety of pear trees that have been recognized. The cultivation of pear trees were quite common earlier but gradually they have declined in their mainly due to the destruction of pear orchards since 1970’s  mainly of the commonest forma of pear species like Winkfield and Vicar are practically not cultivated much. Though these are not used for commercial purposes anymore if one desires to purchase this variety of pears they are required to place a special order for the purchase to certain well recognized suppliers who arrange for it.

Concorde, Worcester Black and Conference are few among the common varieties o pears that are provided by the many pear trees. The cultivation of these trees require special consideration as they are deep rooted trees therefore demand light, sandy soil such that they get a better and firmer grasp. The pollination and propagation of the seeds are made possible commonly by the wild animals who unknowingly lead to the spread of the seeds over a larger area allowing this tree to grow with its many variations. Grafting is the usual method used to produce the variety of pears needed in the market. There are 30 species of pears that can be generated by this method of grafting.

One advantage of these pear trees is that they can withstand extreme cold temperatures, between -25 to -40 degree Celsius.  Now this is mainly for the deciduous category. The evergreen trees are not capable of enduring such low temperature though they are able to sustain in temperatures as low as -15 degree Celsius, beyond which the trees gradually lose their entire moisture content.