Bloodpeer was the one I could not remember. And different sources, most private, some USDA. And red fleshed pears are not like red fleshed apples in that red fleshed apples have a wide range of flavors and textures. For the most part once red fleshed pears are ripe you only have a few days to do something with them with the exception of Verbelu.
Now this is for our region which is SE Ohio, someone somewhere else might have a different experience.
I pick them early and we mix them with perry pears/
New-old variety. Two countries I know are bringing it back; back, being the Sanguinole Pear from Italy, now referred to as Cocomerina and is also being sold in Belgium. It is a very, very old mutant pear, that much research has been taken to get them reproduced as they were. It is supposedly tasty, and sweet and crunchy. No melting texture.
I canāt seem to find a single company that sells red-fleshed pears here in the USA. Iāve contacted USDA-ARS and am awaiting news from the āpear curatorā, but anyone know of any sources? Worst case, Iāll be talking to Derek (thank god for him) regarding scion wood, but Iād like to see if possible I could skip some years of growth.
I donāt think Iāve ever seen any for sale anywhere either. I do have Rotkottig frau Ostergotland grafted to my Harrow sweet in a few places curtesy of @BobVance. I think this is second leaf since grafting and no flowers yet. I canāt remember if Bob got any fruit from his yet.
Anyway, I see you are in PA, so if you happen to be coming through the Arlington, VA area at any point Iād be happy to cut a piece off for you to use for bud wood. If you have any pears currently growing, maybe budding over the summer will get you a little further along than waiting for scion wood next year. Also, several people have had luck grafting scions in the summer as well, so you could try both.
Iām not sure if this is a variety you are interested in, but happy to share if you want it.
Iām still not convinced they exist. Think about it: Have you ever seen anybody here post a picture of one? Weāve got cherries of the rio grande, obscure mulberry varieties, and pears galore, but somehow nobody has this very special kind of pear.
Red-fleshed pears are the bigfoot of the fruit world.
Buckle yourself in for quite a waitā¦I grafted it in 2013 and this is the first year it has fruit. And that fruit is a single cluster. I thinned it to 2 (I think) and when I did, I noticed that the tiny fruitlets were red. So, at least I think itās the right variety. I got the wood from Maple Valley Orchards.
I will certainly take you up on that offer Zendog when my farm slows down enough that
I could pay you a visit. Thanks for being so kind, its certainly appreciated when trying to track down these āliving legendsā.
Yes, I canāt wait to learn what they actually taste like. Bob may need to station himself out by the tree with an air rifle to protect those 2 lonely pears from squirrels and other evils.
From the photos in the USDA database, they look rather small and I think I read somewhere that they might be more of a perry pear than something you would enjoy taking a bite out of. But it is all a mystery until someone here actually tastes one.
This one is slightly sweet with no noticeable acid and no astringency at all. The meat is on the drier side, but not mealy. The skin/peel is thick and slightly woody, but still edible.There are some small stone cells around the seed core. The seed core itself is chewy (spitter). Flavor is pear-like with no berry-like flavors typical for the red fleshed apples. Overall taste I would say is fair to good, especially considering that itās an early season pear.
OK, here is a pic, that I took a few days ago: