by Mike Biltonen
Just when I thought I’d had the best pear I’d ever eaten—the ‘Warren’—I ate a Taylor’s Gold pear. Nothing against the Warren, I mean the buttery smoothness and sweetness are incredible. But the Taylor had a certain liveliness to it that came out with the super-bright aromas and flavors. Plus I believe that for all its obvious ugliness, there is an incredible ‘diamond in the rough’ beauty about it. The Taylor is a large pear, bigger than any we sell, with rough exterior enhanced by cinnamon-gold skin color. It doesn’t have the royal elegance of the lanky Golden Russet Bosc. Or the plain-Jane look about it of the ‘Warren,’ with hidden treasures held inside its common wrapping. The Taylor is its own pear, for sure.
A natural mutation of Doyenne du Comice, this russet Comice was first discovered by Michael King-Turner in his Riwaka orchard near Nelson, New Zealand, in 1986. When first discovered, this Comice mutation was instantly relished for its extra good flavor. New Zealand growers say the Taylor’s Gold pear likes and prefers cooler climates, similar to the climates in some areas of the Pacific Northwest. Not too surprisingly then, California, Oregon and Washington are major pear producers and grow nearly 98% of the US pear crop. Which brings us too Frog Hollow Farm. We’re not really considered to be in a “cool” climate per se. But we certainly are in a prime fruit growing region of California and do benefit from our proximity to the Bay area. And the combination of great soils and climate (and lots of sunshine) mean that all of our fruit, and especially our pears, are unparalleled in sweetness, flavor, and texture.
But, back to my Taylor. Like I said I had just finished one, when my tummy roared out for more. And by the time I was time done I had devoured another of these mammoth pears without so much as a pause….well, maybe just enough to cut it up. And that’s what this incredible piece of fruit does to folks. (Secret: so does all of Frog Hollow’s fruit.) Unfortunately, unlike the ‘Warren’ pear, we do not grow a whole of the Taylors and so they are available for a limited period of time—like now through the end of October. So don’t wait. Order today. Buy Now!