Crop: Sucrée de Montluçon

Just under 4 Kg from my super-productive little stepover this year. I left them on the tree as long as I could this year, and this is the first time they have ripened sufficiently (I usually end up using them under-ripe as cooking pears). Fully ripened they are slightly perfumed, soft, coarse and slightly granular but very sweet, nearer catalogue descriptions. Skins were quite tough and papery though. Ideally this variety needs a long season in addition to a warm location, and picking should be left as late as possible.

Crop: Sucrée de Montluçon

I deliberately restricted the crop of Sucree de Montluçon to 7 fruit, as I wanted some decent-sized ones to enter in the culinary pear category at the local show, though in the end I did not bother. The theory worked, and I had nice, large even crop, which started dropping this week. The small crop weighed in at a respectable 2.1 kg (nearly 4.5 lbs).

Sucrée is an odd pear, and I can't say I'd agree with other descriptions of its qualities. The texture is very coarse (see photo) and slightly gritty, but very juicy like slightly chewy melon. The flavour is sweet with a slight aromatic quality reminiscent of guava or star-fruit, though overall a bit thin. I usually cook them while still hard. I expected the very hard, green ones I prepared today to be under-ripe, but one just starting to yellow was just right for eating raw.

Blossom - Sucrée de Montluçon

Only a couple of flowering spurs this year, not surprising after the very large crop of last year. Pears aren't quite as biennial as apples, but a particularly heavy crop will usually be followed by a lighter one in the following season.

Crop: Sucrée de Montluçon

Decided to pick the remaining Sucree de Montluçon as they were falling quite rapidly. A very heavy crop from less than a metre length of step-over 3.4 kg, 7.5 lbs, as much as some full-sized cordons have produced. 

Although the flavour has been describe as: "fine, melting and juicy, gritty...very juicy and very sweet, winey, tart, flavour with a delicate perfume* " I have never found it this good. The flesh is quite coarse and 'marrowy', slightly gritty with a bland sweet flavour with little acidity. To be fair, the only summers that it has produced fruit have been terrible ones. Best cooked green. Next year I will thin ruthlessly and just keep 6-8 for exhibition, as they do attain a large size, and have nice smooth skins free from any disease or blemishes.

*From Fruitiers.com

Sucrée de Montluçon - set

Another lovely sight, a very good set of Sucrée de Montluçon, grown as a stepover in my front garden. So far proving a very attractive, productive and healthy cultivar, free-spurring with compact growth which is ideal for training.

Sucrée de Montluçon: set

Another amazingly good set of Sucrée de Montluçon, this variety has been so consistent in the quality of blossom, number of fruit that set and quality of crop. If the set is still high after the June drop, I think I will thin it a little, as they can achieve a large size with symmetrical shape which makes them excellent for exhibition purposes.

Sucrée de Montluçon: Blossom

My favourite pear blossom belongs to Sucrée de Montluçon, a variety from central France discovered in 1812. The blooms are large, creamy white and produced in regular abundance. It's a compact, densely-spurring variety that has done very well for me as a step-over tree. I rather regret not having room for one as a half-standard as the density of the blossom rivals neighbouring cherries. It does well for me in my sunny, sheltered front garden.

First blossoms opened April 1, full blossom coincides with Morettini and Devoe around April 5, hopefully ensuring good pollination as well as a uniform display.