Ever heard of Seckel Pears?

Ever heard of Seckel pears? Me either. It turns out, they're really freaking tasty.

I was at Whole Foods the other day, and saw these tiny little pears for sale. They were like play pears or something, really small. I have this thing that I sometimes do when I'm shopping -- I try to buy one item that's out of the ordinary for me. One thing that I've never heard of and want to try. This urge normally overcomes me in the cheese section, especially if the words "raw" and "cave aged" are used in the description.

Back to the toy pears. The Wife loves pears (especially with almond butter), so I got them for her. She took them to work and around 11:00 I get a couple texts: "What is the name of these tiny pears?" "Apparently they are the best pears Cyndi has ever had."

Wow.

I'm eating one right now, and I have to say, it's a dandy. Best in my life? It's been a long day and my senses are not totally reliable, but very possibly so.

The texture is nice and smooth (not that weird graininess you can get with pears), and it tastes not only sweet as all get out, but also -- fresh. Green, I guess you could say. And the skin lends a bit of tartness and astringency to the experience that I really appreciate.

Something else that I appreciate is that they ripen after being picked. So you can get rock hard ones at the store and know that in a few days they'll be dandy.

I have this theory that the more wild a food is, the better it is for you -- like, on a genetic level (I'll have to post an elaboration of this point sometime). So, when I see an unusual looking fruit or vegetable, I check it out to see if it's heirloom or not because I want to eat heirlooms whenever I can.

It turns out, the Seckel pear is old-timey. This page on the USA Pear website states that the Seckel pear is the only truly American pear, and originated probably from wild seedling near Philadelphia.

Bitchin.

Enjoy adventuresome eating producing a stellar new find,

Bp

[photo credit at the USA pear website]