Bosc Pear

There are over 3,000 known pear varieties grown around the world.

The Beurré Bosc or Bosc is a cultivar of the European Pear grown in the northwestern U.S. states, Australia, British Columbia and Europe, where it is sometimes called Kaiser.

A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of desired characteristics.

The European Pear (Pyrus communis) is a species of pear native to central and eastern Europe and southwest Asia. The European Pear is one of the most important fruits of temperate regions, it is the species from which most pear cultivars grown in Europe, North America and Australia are developed.

Major pear cultivars

In the United States, 95% of pear production came from 4 cultivars:

- 50% Williams' Bon Chrétien (England, ca. 1770; a summer pear commonly called Bartlett in the U.S. and Canada, and Williams elsewhere)
- 34% Beurre d'Anjou (France, a winter pear commonly called just d'Anjou)
- 10% Beurre Bosc (Also known as Kaiser Alexander, a winter pear commonly called just Bosc or Kaiser)
- 1% Doyenné du Comice (France, 1849; commonly called Comice pears)

8 varieties of pears, from left to right, Williams' Bon Chrétien (sold in the U.S. as Bartlett), 2 Red Bartlett varieties, d'Anjou, Bosc, Comice, Concorde, and Seckel. Image source: Wikipedia, Agyle, public domain.

In 1985s, the Bartlett pear represented 80% of U.S. pear production, which decreased to 50% in 2004, displaced by the d'Anjou and Bosc pears, both winter pears more tolerant of cold than the Bartlett.

Characteristic features of the Bosc pear are a long tapering neck and russeted skin. Its flesh is denser and crisper than that of the Bartlett (Williams) or D'Anjou pear. It is called the "aristocrat of pears".

References:
Bosc Pear. Wikipedia.
European Pear. Wikipedia.

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