The gold foil lets you know you’re about to enjoy something amazing. So in each box, one pear was wrapped in shining gold foil, turning what may seem like a beautiful pear at first glance into a treat fit for a king. Harry & David® Royal Rivera® Pears quickly became a tradition for American families.

What is a golden pear?

Golden pears are very round with no discernible neck and have a golden yellow skin. The surface of the pear is smooth and dotted with small lenticels, indicative of the fruit’s high sugar content. Golden pears are very sweet and have little acidity.

What happened to Harry and David Royal Riviera pears?

Harry & David filed for bankruptcy in 2011, and some feared that might be the end of its gold-wrapped pears — but after hiring a new head of marketing at the peak of its crisis, the company managed to turn things around, achieving double-digit growth just a couple years later.

What is a royal Verano pear?

Grown in soil and climates that are perfect complements to Southern Oregon’s, where we grow our Royal Riviera® Pears, Royal Verano Pears are large, saturated with juice and smooth as butter. Expertly grown and tended, these exquisite and extraordinary pears make wonderful gifts, and each one is picked by hand.

Why are pears associated with Christmas?

Thanks to their versatility and long storage life, pears were a valuable and much-desired commodity among the trading routes of the ancient world. And in popular culture, the pear tree was immortalized alongside a partridge in the 18th-century Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Why do they wrap pears in gold foil?

The gold foil lets you know you’re about to enjoy something amazing. So in each box, one pear was wrapped in shining gold foil, turning what may seem like a beautiful pear at first glance into a treat fit for a king. Harry & David® Royal Rivera® Pears quickly became a tradition for American families.

Why do they wrap pears in paper?

Pears are surprisingly fragile. Their skin is bruised and punctured easily, which means that their stems can stab each other during transport. The paper you see wrapped around pears protects them from adverse conditions. It ultimately ensures that each pear you see is as close to flawless as possible on the shelves.

Does Harry and David still sell Royal Riviera pears?

Today, Harry & David owns and farms over 2,000 acres of these exceptional Comice pear trees near their headquarters in Medford, Oregon. Harvested in the fall, Royal Riviera® Pears are a holiday tradition for countless families, friends, coworkers, and colleagues.

How long do Harry David pears last?

How long do Harry and David truffles last? They will usually remain at peak quality for 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature. For longer storage, they will keep well in the fridge for 2 to 3 months or for 6 months in the freezer.

What is the sweetest pear?

Comice. Comice pears were originally cultivated in France. They’re known as the sweetest pear variety, and are often the variety shipped in gift boxes. Because of this, they’re sometimes given the nickname “the Christmas pear.” Comice pears have light green skin with a blush of pinkish red.

Do Harry and David pears need to be refrigerated?

Cold storage. Unlike a lot of other tree-borne fruits, pears ripen after being picked and not while on the branch. Pears have a fairly narrow ripening stage, so it is best to store them in a cool, dry place.

Did Harry and David go out of business?

The coronavirus pandemic has forced many retailers to close. Not all of them will reopen. The parent company of Harry & David, the gourmet fruit seller known for its gift baskets, has decided to permanently close most of the brand’s bricks-and-mortar locations in the U.S. and focus on an e-commerce future.

What is the best tasting pear?

Comice pears are perhaps the best pears for eating raw. They have a great fruity aroma and flavor, as well as a slightly finer, less grainy texture than other pear varieties. They are almost a cross between a Bosc pear and an Asian pear. Comice pears are slightly more rounded and apple-shaped than other pears.

Where did pears originally come from?

Pears originated in southeastern Europe and were a favorite food of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The ancient Greek author Homer described them as “gifts from the gods” likely due to their sweet, juicy flavor. The early Romans developed 50 varieties of pear and planted them across Europe.

What is the pear capital of the world?

‘Pear-adise’ In Lake County And just 120 miles north of San Francisco—in the small town of Kelseyville, dubbed the “Pear Capital of the World” by USA Today—the annual Kelseyville Pear Festival will celebrate the region’s prolific pear production and rich agricultural heritage on September 28, 2019.

How did a pear get its name?

The word pear is probably from Germanic pera as a loanword of Vulgar Latin pira, the plural of pirum, akin to Greek apios (from Mycenaean ápisos), of Semitic origin (pirâ), meaning “fruit”. The adjective pyriform or piriform means pear-shaped.