I think from the descriptions that several cooking pears turn red when
cooked.
I have never seen a cooking pear in a recent U.S. nursery catalogue,
except for Belle Angevine (supposed to be adequate though not best
quality) from Southmeadow Fruit Gardens.
A couple of the best cooking pears by repute are Bellissime d'Hiver and
Catillac. both are evidently held by members of the Home Orchard society
and possibly scionwood might be obtained. The first is held by the
Corvallis station. They might be willing to supply a propagator.
An annual scion exchange in Eugene, Oregon had Bellissime d'Hiver and
Catillac wood available in 2010 but not in 2013. Perhaps special
arrangements could be made if there was a known demand.
Cooking pears would likely be of interest mainly to those concerned
with self-sufficiency/homesteading, with a certain amount of land. For
such people their reputed easy and long keeping (said to be till May for
Bellisime d'Hiver, March or April for Catillac) might make them very
useful.
Given that self-sufficiency may become of more general interest in a
resource-short future it's a pity that cooking pears are hardly
available from nurseries in North America.
Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
On Wed, 5 Jun 2013 17:07:33 -0600, "Naomi Counides" <naomi@oznayim.us>
wrote:
I have a friend looking for a cooking pear. She is Dutch. She said
the one
she knows has red flesh, or maybe it turns red when cooked. Any
suggestions
of what would be available in the US?