Pears

History and origin of the pear

The origin of the pear is between Eastern Europe and Asia. Archaeological remains were found in Eastern Europe dating the origin of this fruit in prehistory.

The pear production and cultivation was widespread in Greece and Greeks cultivated it in their islands and Romans were who extended it to more regions of the Mediterranean. We can say therefore that we speak of a typical Mediterranean fruit. The Greek writer Theophrastus already mentioned wild varieties of pears. In Greek mythology it was considered a healthy and delicious fruit highly prized by gods and heroes.

The Romans perfected the techniques of cultivation and spread throughout Mediterranean Europe, North Africa and Britain. Pliny mentions it in his work Natural History and with Cato gives an indication of the improvement in the production and cultivation of this popular fruit. Gradually pear production spread throughout Europe, especially in France and Belgium. In 1400 the Spaniards conquerors did the same as with the apple and were exported to America where it was cultivated in Mexico and California.

Major producers of pears

The main producing country is China with more than half of world production in charge and is followed by United States, Italy, Argentina, Spain, India, Turkey and South Africa. Spain currently is among the 5 largest producers in the world. The major exporters of pears include China, Argentina and in Europe Belgium is the exporting leading country today. Russia stands as the largest importer of pears nowadays.

There are pears harvested in different seasons and therefore nowadays are easy to find in stores throughout the year.

Properties and benefits of pears

Among the many benefits of eating pears are the following:

• It contains B vitamins and calorie intake is low.
• Rich in potassium.
• Astringent, excellent effect for the proper functioning of the digestive system.
• A diuretic fruit since it helps to eliminate excess fluid in the body.