The pear, one astute observer declares, is shaped like a Rubens" nude.
Celebrated in art, song and poetry as far back as 1000 B.C., the fruit has long
been prized by great lovers, and many kings and princes have passionately
cultivated new varieties for their tables. Pears are one of the few fruits that
ripen better off the tree and the Chinese readies theirs in rooms filled with
sensuous burning incense. All varieties go especially well with cheese desserts,
Rabelais telling us that: There is no match you could compare / To Master Cheese
and Mistress Pear.
The soft Bartlett pear, a European type, constitutes about 70% of our American
commercial crop, but Asian types like the Seckel have more often been referred
to in erotic literature.