I never really pruned the apricots as you can see. I got them from Henry fields for 99 cents and they are a sweet pit apricot. Planted them as a wind break / wildlife trees aka row run in those days. Oh how things change :0)
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The old fashioned Kieffer (at least that’s what it’s called) is covered with fruit but the fruits are small this year. It’s not carrying to much fruit either it’s been a strange year
All pears and apples are smaller than normal this year. Here is the other Kieffer which is sometimes called an improved Kieffer. You can tell they are much smaller this year
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Not sure but I think this is the original Kieffer pear.
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That sure looks like it Auburn. Nice photo and great looking pear. I’m told a lot of those canned Bartlett’s that are sold are actually Kieffer. When does that ripen for you?
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How does Kieffer taste for fresh eating? How do you ripen it for fresh eating? Been trying to decide whether to try this variety, but I can’t find much about eating it other than canning.
Irby,
There are a few people that like them fresh but it’s not my favorite for fresh eating. It truly is an excellent canning pear and that’s it’s intended purpose. Those same tendencies to stay firm when canning are the reason it’s not eaten fresh. It will have some grit like many pears do. There are definitely many people that eat them fresh but if your looking for a sweet, juicy, melting pear kieffer is not that pear. A few that might be good choices for fresh eating even in the presence of fire blight would be Harrow sweet, Potomac, or Duchesse d’Angouleme to name a few. The reason I bring up fire blight is the reason most people grow kieffer is it’s highly resistant to fire blight. It will get fire blight it just typically does not die from it.
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Thanks for clarifying that for me. I will be looking to add some of those blight resistant pears this Fall or next Spring.
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@Auburn,
If you look at the first picture that I posted above that is supposedly called an improved kieffer which is not exactly like the original but is pretty close. It will ripen fairly soon but not yet. You can tell yours is the original kieffer because it lacks russeting on the ends like the alleged improved kieffer has. I would mention the two pears are likely not related at all much like concord and seedless concord are not related in any way besides the way they look. I have so many things that are not a true kieffer it’s hard to keep track of. A friend with a nearby orchard got me a true old fashioned kieffer now. I saw his and they are identical to yours. They are not fruiting for me yet but my friend would give me fruit for the asking as I would him if asked. Wound up with a lot of great fruits through the years that are not the variety they were sold as. My improved kieffer are likely what many people are calling kieffer now but even that I’m unsure of. Through the years I’ve eaten many Kieffers that were not at all Kieffers. Just about every farmer around her grows a kieffer that is not a kieffer.
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This tree was planted in 2015 and I let a few pears stay on. I did not record the ripen date last year but I think it was about September 7th. Bill
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As Clark said this pear would not appeal to the masses simply because it is a little hard and has some grit. For myself I think it is a very good fresh eating pear. This pear is not a super sweet pear but sweet enough for me. I think this is a pear that benefits from being picked before totally ripening and brought inside for a few days. Hope this helps. Bill
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Having grown up in east-central AL… Keiffer, Orient, and Pineapple were the pears that predominated… and, to me, they are what a pear is supposed to be… hard, juicy, flavorful, and yes, gritty.
Soft, ‘butter’ pears, with their mushy consistency and cloying flavor… kind of make me throw up a little in my mouth. lol.
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Same here. Whenever I got a store type pear they just tasted completely to soft and mushy for me. Times have changed and I like most all pears now but the hard, sweet, and gritty ones continue to be my favorites.
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It tastes good the kieffer pear? and weight have?
this pear 2 years that bring the nursery of my city does, but look for information about it and I read it was good for grilling but bad to eat, so finally not buy the tree.
I don’t grill very often but I bet it would be very good cooked that way.
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Don’t make that bet Sir! I’ve tried keiffer and other pears grilled and tried a few from real live chefs as well and none were very good. In fact they were awful. Don’t know what happens to em on a grill but it ain’t pretty at least the ones I’ve had.
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They’re big and heavy - you don’t want one to fall and hit you in the face while you’re picking
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I dried a bunch of Kieffer that were not overly sweet last year. I did eat them as a healthy snack.
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We had these when I was growing up. I actually like their taste but they are a hard pear. My mom would take the nice ones that did not have blemishes and wrap them in newspaper and store them for a bit (I can’t remember how long but it seemed like a long time to me as a child) and they would become “mellow”–yellow and softer and sweeter. They were good eating then. The others she made preserves and jelly and you can’t beat them for that.
Katy
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Katy,
Sounds like your mom was a smart lady! Wish everyone grew a few kieffers. They will feed us most years and that makes them worth a lot as far as I’m concerned. Hope you get another Kieffer in the ground soon.
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I actually planted one this year. I also put in an Orient. I think I’m a bit biased to the harder pear but then I do like to can and preserve things. 
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