Seasons/Availability
Seckel Pears are available August through January.
Current Facts
Autumn and winter are the usual seasons for fresh pears, but with today's sophisticated storing and shipping techniques, supermarkets offer pears nearly year round.
Description/Taste
Brownish yellow and russet, most often having a dark reddish blush, the small almost bite-size chubby Seckel pear, pronounced SEHK-uhl, sometimes shows off a dull green cast. A very sweet little treat with a rather grainy texture, this hybrid offers a delicious spicy flavor. They say good things come in small packages and this pear proves it.
Nutritional Value
Providing some vitamin C and dietary fiber, one medium pear has about 100 calories. Pears contain pectin, shown to help inhibit certain cancers. Eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables lowers the chances of cancer. A recent study found that eating nine or ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, were effective in lowering blood pressure.
Applications
The very best way to eat this pear is simply out of hand. Intensify flavor by marinating slices in pear brandy. Ginger, vanilla, nutmeg, lemon, cinnamon, cheese, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts love to be "peared" with this sweet little fruit. Halves make attractive garnish for salads and sandwiches. Seckel pears are excellent for pickling and spicing. Taking longer to ripen than other pears, this pear is a very good keeper when refrigerated. To store, place in a fruit bowl or basket and keep at room temperature until ripe.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
The first American pears were raised from seed, which like apples, do not breed true to variety. Because of this, American pears became even more diverse than their European ancestors, resulting in many delicious purely American strains.
Geography/History
Believed to be a truly American pear and named in honor of a Pennsylvania farmer who discovered it around 1820, the Seckel is thought to be a hybrid of Asian and European pears. Quite different from any European variety, this variety is the smallest of all commercially grown pears and sometimes called a sugar pear.
Featured Restaurants
Restaurants currently purchasing this product as an ingredient for their menu.
Featured Recipes
Recipes that include Seckel Pears. One
is easiest, three is harder.
