As your likely aware @39thparallel and I frequently give each other backups of ultra rare pears. Saint Nicolas is one such pear 39th parallel very rare pears . Blooms are setting but we will have to wait and see today is April 9th. There are many people waiting to see this pear and learn more about it.
Still waiting on Treasure too. I think my St Nicolas may have had one pear a couple years ago but, it disappeared before I could sample it.
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It would surprise me if these produce fruit but it seems determined to try. There are alot of blossoms on that small tree.
Thanks for having me out today and for allowing me to try this exceedingly rare pear. Itâs a very unique taste due to the tartness. It is more tart than any pear i have had. In some cases thats very valuable for fruit to have tartness. Cooking would be very blan if every pear was bosc or clara frijs. Most people have never heard of Saint Nicolas let alone seen it or ate it. Appreciate the oppurtunity to do that!
No one can say much about this pear for sure unfortunately. My suspicion is only 39thparallel has grown it to fruit. All that said a pear this tart is valuable in many ways for cooking. The appearance reminds me of a bae pear.
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I wasnât expecting round !
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Saint Nicholas is very rare! Its a pear that came to most of us by way of the Nick Botner collection. Who knows if it is SAINT NICHOLAS. The description is even more obscure but here is what we know " SAINT NICHOLAS Found as St. Nicholas in the collection of Nick Botner in Oregon, he kindly sent scions in 2010. This pear has variously been known as Duchesse DâOrlĂ©ans, BeurrĂ© St. Nicholas and other names, and there is some confusion as to whether they are all the same. Saint Nicholas was first noted in Britain in 1826, in the LHS collection at Chiswick. All these pears are now missing. Scott says BeurrĂ© St. Nicolas was a wilding discovered at St. Nicolas, Angers, France, first fruiting in 1839. Hogg gives no origin, calling it Duchesse DâOrlĂ©ans, while giving the other names as synonyms. Scottâs and Hoggâs descriptions vary in the season of ripening Scott says âone of the best of early pearsâ, ripening in September, while Hogg says it ripens in October. They agree that it is a large, dessert pear, with sweet, juicy, melting flesh. Ours, as with Scott, ripens in September and is very melting and fine fleshed, juicy and sweet with a caramel flavour. We welcome its return to Britain.**" according to Pear Trees 6 - Historic Varieties Grown and Supplied by Bernwode Fruit Trees .
I have a Saint Nicholas i got from @39thparallel several years ago. Its growing in clay soil on callery rootstock in much less than an ideal place and doing fine. Thought i would offer some kind of description since like the pear it may dissapear by the next time someone searches for it.
Here is yet another description
" Description- This section is from âThe Horticulturist, And Journal Of Rural Art And Rural Tasteâ, by P. Barry, A. J. Downing, J. Jay Smith, Peter B. Mead, F. W. Woodward, Henry T. Williams. Also available from Amazon: Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste.
The Duchesse DâOrleans Pear. Beurre St. Nicholas
The Duchesse dâOrleans is ranked unanimously, as far as we are informed by those who have tested it in this country, as one of the best new varieties from abroad. It was first introducd by Mr. Kenrick, and noticed in the seventh edition of his American Orchardist. It was first fruited by Robert Manning, of Salem, and within two or three years past in several parts of the country. It is figured and described in the first volume of Hoveyâs Fruits of America. Withal, we have not been able to trace its origin, and we are inclined to think it is from Germany. It has fruited in our collection three years. The first year we formed a poor opinion of it, but we found afterwards that we injured it by leaving it too long on the tree. Our colored plate was made from a specimen grown by H. P. Norton, Esq., of Brockport, N. Y., who has had it in bearing for two or three years, and we believe thinks highly of it."
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This pear is loaded with blooms again this year. There may be more than one pear called this
" Description
This section is from âThe Horticulturist, And Journal Of Rural Art And Rural Tasteâ, by P. Barry, A. J. Downing, J. Jay Smith, Peter B. Mead, F. W. Woodward, Henry T. Williams. Also available from Amazon: Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste.
The Duchesse DâOrleans Pear. Beurre St. Nicholas
The Duchesse dâOrleans is ranked unanimously, as far as we are informed by those who have tested it in this country, as one of the best new varieties from abroad. It was first introducd by Mr. Kenrick, and noticed in the seventh edition of his American Orchardist. It was first fruited by Robert Manning, of Salem, and within two or three years past in several parts of the country. It is figured and described in the first volume of Hoveyâs Fruits of America. Withal, we have not been able to trace its origin, and we are inclined to think it is from Germany. It has fruited in our collection three years. The first year we formed a poor opinion of it, but we found afterwards that we injured it by leaving it too long on the tree. Our colored plate was made from a specimen grown by H. P. Norton, Esq., of Brockport, N. Y., who has had it in bearing for two or three years, and we believe thinks highly of it.
At the Philadelphia Pomolo-gical Convention last autumn it was favorably spoken of by Mr. Walker, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Ho-vey, Mr. Saul, and others; and would have been placed upon the list for general cultivation, only that it was not sufficiently known. It remains on the list of those that promise well.
Fruit - large, average specimens being about 3 1/2 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter at the widest part. Form - oblong pyr-iform, slightly contracted above the middle, and tapering gradually to the stalk, which is fleshy at the base. Stalk - somewhat variable in length, from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches, pretty stout, and usually enlarged at the extremity. Calyx - small, open, shallow, nearly on the surface. Color - greenish yellow, marked frequently with a delicate russet tint, lightly tinged with red in the sun - often a rich bright red - very beautiful. Flesh - melting and juicy, with a delicate and agreeable perfume. We have picked it quite hard and ripened it in the house on the 25th of September, and we think we never had it in a better condition; but its usual season here is the first two weeks in October. It should always be picked in good season and ripened off in the house
"
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@clarkinks, the picture you posted of the one you tried looks very different than the drawing you posted. Any new context to add to help clarify?
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Corvallis says it is Verte Longue dâAutomne x White Doyenne (so it is a sister of Marie Louise!) - pretty cool
I am growing Marie Louise but might add St Nicholas now
@clarkinks is it tart?
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It was very tart. Think lemon!
I saw that definately. It is so rare there is not much of a point of reference. I think it is likely from the botner collection.
Very rare pear and i hope there are not 2 by the same name. The problem is common names like this there could be 2.
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Picked this one today and will give it some time in the fridge before trying it out. This is my first year getting fruit from the graft, so not sure about timing.
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I would skip the lemon juice and add 2 more pears. Let the pear turn from green to yellow.
Ingredients
Deselect All
Crust:
1/2 cup whole-grain pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
3 medium pears
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Glaze:
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon boiling water
Directions
- To prepare the crust, in a medium bowl whisk together the whole-wheat pastry flour, all- purpose flour, granulated sugar and salt. Add the butter and using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get a pebbly, course texture. In a small bowl combine the buttermilk and ice water. Using a fork, gradually mix the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Pat the dough into a 4-inch round and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F, and prepare the filling. Peel the pears, core them and cut into 1/4-inch slices. In a large bowl toss the pear slices with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the cornstarch, brown sugar and cinnamon and toss until the pears are evenly coated. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a large circle about nine inches in diameter. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and draping the dough over the rolling pin, transfer to the prepared baking sheet. If the dough breaks at all patch it up with your fingers.
- Arrange the pears in a mound in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch boarder. Fold the border over the filling. It will only cover the pears partially and does not need to be even.
- Bake the tart for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, keeping the tart in the oven all the while, and bake for another 40 minutes, until the pears are tender and the crust is golden brown.
- In a small bowl stir together the honey and boiling water to make a glaze. When the tart is done remove it from the oven and brush the honey glaze all over the top of the fruit and crust. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly. Cut into 6 wedges and serve warm or a room temperature.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/rustic-pear-tart-recipe-1953434
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I wonder if fruitwood nursery scion Santa Claus is st. Nicholas. They donât give any info on it either. Does anyone know if there different or the same?
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I hope the scions from Fruitwood Nursery are Santa Claus. I top worked an existing tree with these scions two years ago, so no fruit yet.
The St. Nicholas pear I attached was date stamped October 21. That was the first fruit I got off this wood, which I think was grafted in 2018, but I donât recall if it came from 39th Parallel or Singing Tree. Going by memory, the core was rotted by the time I cut it open. Unfortunately that tree is kind of landlocked by a field of soy beans at the moment so I canât check it yet.
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