Spare a thought for a pear

Apples are not the only fruits to be turned into cider. Adrian Tierney-Jones looks at pear cider

While cider takes all the glory, spare a thought for its close cousin perry. Pear perry is one of the greatest and yet unsung drinks in the world.

The recent success of cider has reflected well on perry, but no sooner has it shaken off its image of Babycham then along comes a host of Swedish, Irish and English pear ciders.

Some of them might taste refreshing and ooze pear-like character (Ace Cider Perry from California is excellent), but frankly, they are not perry. They are ciders flavoured with pear juice, in the same way as we have ciders flavoured with honey, raspberry and, for heaven’s sake, blueberry.

Real perry is a complex, deliciously fruity-flavoured, light-coloured treat that drinks like a German or Alsatian white wine; it can be sparkling or still. It can be as light as a feather, delicate on the tongue, or singing with toffee, baked pear and even caramel notes.

It is a refined and subtle drink, the kind of drink that encourages sitting in the garden on a hot summer’s day and mulling over life. It is also a drink that can take its place on the dining table, a companion to various dishes. This complexity and versatility comes from the use of perry pears, which are not the sort of fruit that you’ll see in the fruit bowl. They are smaller than dessert pears and higher in tannin and acid; they can also be as hard as bullets.

Perry was first mentioned back in the late 16th century when Elizabeth I granted the English city of Worcester the right to incorporate thre.....

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By Adrian Tierney-Jones

Section : Cider Special

Page number : 50