When I was a kid, we had what my parents referred to as a "winter pear" tree on our property, which bore fruit very late in the year, and the pears, when fully ripe & sweet, were crunchy, not soft. Does anyone know of a pear variety which is like this, which may be suited to our area? I remember especially liking the crunchiness of the pear, and would love to have such a tree.
WSU is testing Bosc at the Mt Vernon station for its commercial potential on local sites. They describe this one as an "Old French variety, classic late dessert pear; russet brown skin, rich buttery flavor, firm almost crisp flesh and pleasant aroma, also good for culinary use (baking, poached pears); excellent late keeper" in this publication: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb0937/eb0937.pdf