From the tribe of Pyreae, known for their aggression and almost super-hero like ability to wrestle bears and lions with only their hands! … … Ok, not really – pyreae is the family that both apple and pear belong to! The Pear is from the Pyrus genus; whatever that means.
Pears have been around for well over 3000 years as a cultivated fruit perhaps originally found in China (who are still the worlds largest producer) having evolved from several pear-like species. Of course pears are now found all around the world coming in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and flavours; good news for smoothie lovers!
Varieties
The most common varieties you will find in your local shops are the conference pear, comice pear, anjou pear, sekel pear and increasingly the asian pear. So which ones should I use in my smoothie?
Use
It really is down to personal preference of which pears you use in your smoothies, give them all a try and decide for yourself. We here at smoothiecast are massive fans of the asian pear, for its juiciness and its subtle high notes. With a pear you will need to use a lot of ice in the smoothie or some avocado to offset the grainy pear texture. You can use a very ripe sekel pear if you wish to avoid graininess. Another alternative is to use juice or canned pears, Jake often freezes his first or stews them which also does the trick!
Nutrition
Pears are full of dietary fibre… yum! They are also a good source of vitamins C and K and give you about 10% of your RDA for copper!
Fairtrade
Most good supermarkets now stock Fairtrade pears – See List – You will notice some missing though; get lobbying your supermarket to get their ideas together! Fairtrade pear juice would also be good no?
See all smoothie recipes with pear
