Poaching Permitted Pears Are Fall's Most Elegant Fruit

Pears are automatically elegant. Make a dish with apples, and it'll be homey; switch to pears and instantly, it's refined.

We inevitably associate anything with panache with the French, including high fashion, fine restaurants and even pears. We've imported some of France's best varieties to this country, including the Williams (known here as Bartlett), the Comice and the Anjou.

With more than 5,000 varieties of pears grown throughout the world, pears are one of the most widely grown and consumed fruits - although they have never been as popular as apples, probably because they don't store well. They will get mealy if ripened on the tree, and they have a short shelf life. The saying goes that one must sit up all night to catch a pear at its precise moment of ripe perfection.

Proud back-yard pear cultivators used to savor and compare pear varieties as seriously as wine at tastings. Most of the commercial crop in the U.S. is produced in Oregon, Washington and California, and is shipped from late July through early spring.

The two main types of pears are the granular hard or winter pears, suitable for poaching, and the soft, melt-in-your-mouth butter or beurre pears, which are best for eating in their uncooked state.

Bosc and Seckel are the most widely available winter pears. A Bosc pear has almost papery brown skin called russet; it sits on a fat bottom that tapers up to a curved point at the tip. Boscs taste best poached, baked or sauteed until caramelized.

The Seckel pears we see locally came originally from Delaware. An American named Seckel discovered and propagated the pear that carries his name. Because they're rather grainy, people usually cook these almost miniature fruits. Seckels make perfect pickled spiced pears.

Comice, Forelle, Bartlett and Anjou are all butter pears. Comice - short for Doyenne de Comice - is short, fat and lumpy. A russet or red blush accents this yellowish green pear from France. Its smooth, creamy mouth-feel is unequaled, as is its sweet and juicy taste. Its enticing perfume helps make the Comice the fresh eating pear par excellence. Lately, our markets have been displaying the newer Forelle, a lovely golden and crimson speckled pear similar in character to the Comice.