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The Gift of the Perfect Pear

By Mark Mulcahy

Wow, here we are again. The last month of the year - perhaps one of the best times to take in the words of Socrates: Beware the barrenness of a busy life.

We come to December after a long, busy year and then—just as the holidays arrive—we may feel like slowing down. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that December is National Pear Month!
Image of Organic Comice Pears
Pears do not ripen on the tree; they are picked green and then ripen in the store, farmer’s market, or your own homes. They need time and attention, and, like gifts during the holidays, winter pears do not always reveal what's inside from their appearance. They need to be observed, held, and then—if the fruit gives slightly under gentle thumb pressure near the stem end—only then do we know it is ready to eat. So, intentionally or unintentionally, pears ask us to slow down… and I must say I find it is always worth it.

Maybe that is why the pear appears in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, in which a 'partridge in a pear tree' is sent by the subject's true love on the first day of Christmas. Pears take time and attention, just like love.

Speaking of love, Comice pears are known as the Christmas pear, perhaps due to the occasional red blush or creamy melt-in-your-mouth texture. I fell in love with them while I was in my office as a produce buyer at the Good Nature Grocery so many years ago. I had an organic Comice pear perched on a shelf above my desk and watched it slowly turn color and ripen for several days. I had never tried one before, and it felt like a childhood Christmas when there were gifts under the tree, and we wanted to open them but had to be patient. When it was ready, I took it down from the shelf, smelled the aroma and took a bite. It literally made me blush in an office of other buyers—so much so that they noticed, and I had to share.

In the language of flowers, pears symbolize comfort and affection. I’ve always found a lot of comfort in the winter, the holidays, and pears and it is with affection that I will gift them this year.

I recently heard it said at a gathering, “When pears are given as gifts, the sender is asking for a sign of hope. Hope is something that we adults often have a short supply of. When things are going badly, we tend to lose hope. Maybe at this time of worry and this season of generosity, we all need to give the gift of pears and hope.”
Image of Organic Pears
Patience, attention, sharing, and Melissa’s organic, sweet, creamy pears may be the perfect way to slow down and enjoy everything the holidays have to offer us.
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