Are Bartlett Pears Sweet?

Bartlett is also known as Williams’ Pear. The Bartlett Pear comes in two colors, red and green. The green Bartlett pear is the common Bartlett variety we see in grocery stores. Unlike other pear varieties, the Bartlett pear changes colors from green to golden yellow as it ripens.

So are Bartlett pears sweet? Yes and they are probably among the highest in the sweet index together with the Comice and Concorde pears.

Bartlett Pear Season

So when are Barlett pears in season? Although you may find Bartlett pears available year-round, Red and Yellow Bartlett season peaks from fall thru winter. Harvesting Bartlett pears is usually done in late August to early September and usually remains available through December to January or February.

Ways to Eat Bartlett Pears

Bartlett can be eaten fresh, out of hand as snacks or sliced and diced as a juicy addition to salads, or blend to a pureed for drinks and sweet and savory dishes. This pear can be used in cooking and you can make different Bartlett pear recipes like baking, boiling, and grilling.

Bartlett pears also make great preserves and syrups. They can be stored for three weeks when refrigerated and can last over a year when kept in the freezer.

When do you Pick Bartlett Pears?

Pears, if allowed to ripen on the tree, will develop natural deposits of lignin and cellulose in the flesh, causing a gritty texture. Pears are harvested when fully mature, but before they become ripe, and when allowed to ripen after harvest will result in a much sweeter taste and smoother texture.

Best way to Ripen Bartlett Pears

Most pears including Bartlett pears sold in groceries are harvested when fully mature, but before they become ripe. Pears will continue to ripen when they are picked, if left at room temperature, it slowly reaches a sweet maturity as it ripens from the inside out.

How to Know When a Bartlett Pear is Ripe

Although most varieties of pears show little color changes as it ripens Bartlett pears are different, its skin color brightens to a golden yellow color as it ripens.

Bartlett Pear Benefits

Bartlett pears are not just some sweet and juicy fruit, it is also packed with tons of nutritional and health benefits.

Nutritional Value of Bartlett Pears

When eating a medium-sized pear you get 103 Calories, 12% Vitamin C Daily Value,  22% Dietary Fiber Daily Value, and 0 grams of fat, sodium, and cholesterol!

Bartlett Pear Facts

Did you know that the famous Bartlett pears and the Williams pears are one and the same? A nurseryman named Williams acquired the variety from a schoolmaster in England named Mr. Stair and introduced it to the whole of England.

In 1799, Mr. James Carter introduced the Williams trees in the United States, which were planted on the estate of Thomas Brewer in Massachusetts. Later, Enoch Bartlett acquired the Brewer estate. Not knowing the identity of the trees, he propagated and introduced the variety to the United States under his name.

In 1828, when the Williams trees arrived from Europe and were being introduced to the U.S., it was realized that Bartlett and Williams’ pears were the same variety. However, the pear variety had already become widely popular in the U.S. under its adopted name: the Bartlett.