Not Many Calories In A Pear

By Arold Augustin


The pear is in the botanical genus Pyrus in the family rosaceae. This places it in the same family as the flowering rose, which may explain their utterly delectable fragrance. Pear flowers are usually white, although yellow and pink tinted flowers exist. There are roughly 60 calories in a pear, assuming a typical pear weighing approximately 170 grams.

According to the Pear Bureau, pears are one of the most popular fruits in the world. An excellent source of fiber and a good source of Vitamin C, pears are free from sodium, fat and cholesterol. More than 3,000 different varieties of this blissful fruit are grown around the world. Each one has its own distinctive character, flavor and texture.

An excellent addition to a packed lunch or as a snack between meals, they are also used in many intriguing, even weird, recipes. Among the more benign is the smoothie, made in a blender with milk, banana and ice. The adventurous may attempt to make a lavender mint spritz. Either beverage may be served with or without alcohol.

Perry is an alcoholic drink made from Pyrus fruit. It is similar to apple cider. Some people so call it pear cider, although cider purists frown on this practice. Whatever you call it, the drink may be made in a variety of strengths and sweetness/dryness. It is growing in popularity, especially in the United Kingdom and in France.

It makes an interesting sandwich when served with cheese and bacon on sourdough or wholemeal bread. Anjou, Bartlett and Bosc varieties are particularly tasty when prepared this way. Surprisingly, Pyrus fruit itself forms the basis of a gluten-free bread. The Bosc variety makes a handy substitute for pasta in pear lasagna with cardamom and brie. Pears and chorizo are an intriguing combination.

The Bartlett Pyrus tree is prized by gardeners because of its pyramidal form, red foliage in the autumn and its white blossoms. Sadly, it is a menace in domestic cultivation and should be avoided. This is because it is very invasive, stinks when there are more than one or two trees and it breaks in high wind because of its weak wood.

The first literary mention of the fruit appeared in The Odyssey by Homer in the 9th century B. C. This serves as confirmation that the fruit was grown at least three thousand years ago. Two millennia later, the fruit provided an alibi for Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her parents in Fall River, Massachusetts on the night of August 4, 1892. At the time when she was accused of murdering her father with an axe, she testified that she had been in the barn consuming pears. She was acquitted.

The pear is one of the most popular fruits in the world. Considering the low number of calories in a pear, it makes an excellent snack on its own and may be incorporated in recipes. The fruit has been immortalized in literature for nearly three millennia. While some varieties of fruit tree make attractive garden plants, the Bradford variety in particular is a menace and should be avoided in domestic gardens.




About the Author: