Gilles
PearGILLES
Origin/History
A French pear of very ancient and uncertain origin. Jean Bauhin, in his Historia Plantarum (1580), described a pear that appears to be identical with this variety, noting that in Burgundy it was called the Poire de Livre or Pound Pear. The variety is mentioned by Le Lectier in his catalog (1628), and subsequently by Merlet, Claude Saint-Etienne, and La Quintinye, though their references employ various spellings. An alternative designation, Girogile, also appears in historical sources.
Tree
Not described in source.
Fruit
Size and Form: Large to very large, nearly spherical.
Calyx: Large and open, set in a deep basin.
Skin: Thick, pale dull green, washed with brown-red on the face exposed to the sun, much covered with thin brown-russet.
Flesh and Flavor: Greenish-white, semi-fine and semi-breaking, rarely gritty, very juicy, saccharine and sweet. Without much perfume. Occasionally spoiled by too much acerbity. Rated third in quality.
Stem and Core/Seeds: Not described in source.
Season
November to February.
Uses
Cooking.
Subtypes/Variants
Not described in source.
Book Sources
Described in 1 period pomological work
View original book sources (1)
— U.P. Hedrick, The Pears of New York (1921)GILLES.
- Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:222, fig. 1869.
- Mathieu Nom. Pom. 219. 1889. Girogile. 3. Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 177. 1920.
A French pear of very ancient and uncertain origin. Jean Bauhin in his Historia Plantarum, 1580, wrote of a pear which appears to be identical with this and said that in Burgundy it was styled a Poire de Livre or Pound Pear. Le Lectier in his catalog of 1628 and Merlet as well as Claude Saint-Etienne and La Quintinye also mention it though spelling it variously. Fruit large to very large, nearly spherical; calyx large, open, set in deep basin; skin thick, pale dull green, washed with brown-red on the face exposed to the sun, much covered with thin brown-russet; flesh greenish-white, semi-fine and semi-breaking, rarely gritty, very juicy, saccharine and sweet, without much perfume, occasionally spoiled by too much acerbity; third; cooking; Nov. to Feb.