The Number Of Calories In A Pear

By Arold Augustin


The pear is in the botanical genus Pyrus in the family rosaceae. This places it in the same family as the flowering rose, which may explain their utterly delectable fragrance. Pear flowers are usually white, although yellow and pink tinted flowers exist. There are roughly 60 calories in a pear, assuming a typical pear weighing approximately 170 grams.

The fruit of the Pyrus tree is one of the most popular in the world, so say the Pear Bureau. It is a good source of the antioxidant ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and an excellent source of dietary fiber. The fruit is free from fat, cholesterol and salt. There are over 3,000 varieties of this charming fruit cultivated all over the world. Each specimen has its own characteristic texture and taste.

An excellent addition to a packed lunch or as a snack between meals, they are also used in many intriguing, even weird, recipes. Among the more benign is the smoothie, made in a blender with milk, banana and ice. The adventurous may attempt to make a lavender mint spritz. Either beverage may be served with or without alcohol.

The Pyrus fruit is fermented and served as a beverage called perry. While some folk call this pear cider, because of its resemblance, cider purists go nuts and you are better off calling it by its own name. It is particularly popular in French and in the United Kingdom, where it is freakishly strong. The perry served in bottles in the United States has a lower alcohol content and tastes much more like pears and less like paint thinner, as do some of its European counterparts.

It makes an interesting sandwich when served with cheese and bacon on sourdough or wholemeal bread. Anjou, Bartlett and Bosc varieties are particularly tasty when prepared this way. Surprisingly, Pyrus fruit itself forms the basis of a gluten-free bread. The Bosc variety makes a handy substitute for pasta in pear lasagna with cardamom and brie. Pears and chorizo are an intriguing combination.

The tree that bears the Bradford variety is admired as an ornamental tree because of its red leaves in fall, its pyramidal shape and white flowers. Planting them in residential gardens is not recommended for several reasons. It is highly invasive; it stinks and splits easily in high winds because of its weak wood.

The first literary mention of the fruit appeared in The Odyssey by Homer in the 9th century B. C. This serves as confirmation that the fruit was grown at least three thousand years ago. Two millennia later, the fruit provided an alibi for Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her parents in Fall River, Massachusetts on the night of August 4, 1892. At the time when she was accused of murdering her father with an axe, she testified that she had been in the barn consuming pears. She was acquitted.

The pear is a much-loved fruit all over the world, second only to the apple in popularity. The low number of calories in a pear makes it a tasty, low-calorie snack for those who are watching their weight. While certain varieties of the fruit are treasured as plant specimens, others are unwelcome additions to domestic gardens.




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