Could a pear named “Best Ever” possibly live up to its boastful name? It’s been a long time coming, but fruit-curious Southern Californians now have a chance to taste for themselves a pear with a rich, spicy, vinous flavor.
Bred by Frank Reimer near Medford, Ore., in 1935, Best Ever is a cross of the prized Comice pear with an obscure French variety called Louis Pasteur. It’s not a great beauty — the skin is green mottled with a fine russet color — but it artfully blends the buttery texture, sweetness and juiciness of Comice and the unique flavor of Louis Pasteur, which the great pomologist U.P. Hedrick described as “very fine, melting and sugary, sprightly and perfumed.”
Best Ever is harvested in September but ripens in January and has the rare virtue of storing well as late as May.
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