Forelle Pears from Chile

In Albums: food fruit produce pears

Jul 5th, 2011, by Alex Zorach

These Forelle pears were for sale at Iovine's produce corner in the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, PA, for (if I recall correctly) $2.99 a pound. The PLU (produce code) sticker reads 4418, and notes that these pears are from Chile.

Forelle pears are an uncommon variety of pear in mainstream stores, and they tend not to be cheap. But that said, this is an extraordinarily high price for pears of any variety, and I normally avoid pears from outside the U.S., preferring instead to get as local produce as possible. But these pears looked so exceptionally good that I had to try one. You can view a photo I took later of this forelle pear, sliced. It was disappointing, reinforcing my caution about buying fruit that has been shipped over long distances, especially from outside the U.S. Could it be that these pears have been cultivated specifically to look good, and that's how they get away with selling for such a high price?