A Crisp Lost

Like the texture of Asian pears? Originally, almost all pears had that kind of crisp or “breaking” flesh. It wasn’t until the middle of the 18th Century that the great Belgian horticulturist Nicolas Hardenpoint succeeded in developing varieties that became melting, or “buttery” when ripe. In fact, many of the early examples of that type were called beurre (including beurre Bosc and beurre d’Anjou) to distinguish them from their crisp-fleshed cousins.