Gilles

Origin / History

Gilles is a French pear of very ancient and uncertain origin; Elliott enters it simply as "Foreign." Bunyard says it is "of great antiquity" and has been grown for four centuries.

Hedrick writes that Jean Bauhin, in his Historia Plantarum, 1580, described a pear which "appears to be identical with this." Bauhin said that in Burgundy it was styled a Poire de Livre or Pound Pear. Le Lectier mentions it in his catalog of 1628, as do Merlet, Claude Saint-Etienne, and La Quintinye, with the name spelled variously. Downing calls it "a large showy French Pear."

Bunyard says the curious name has been the subject of much discussion. He thinks the most reasonable origin is that suggested by M. Messager. Messager points out that many places where monasteries of the order of St. Denis were established had the termination "ogile." Thus altum-ogile became Altogile in French and finally Auteuil, and Argentogile became Argenteuil. In the same way Girum-ogilium gave Girogile. Bunyard takes Girogile to be the oldest spelling of Gilogil and therefore adopts it as his heading. Elliott, Downing, and Thomas enter the pear as Gilogil.

Tree

Growth sturdy, making a large, spreading standard; fertility good. Leaf round, very large, down-curved, boldly and irregularly serrate; it hangs late and turns dull crimson red (Bunyard).

Fruit

Size: Large to very large (Hedrick), the other sources calling it large. Bunyard gives the dimensions as 3¾ by 3¾.

Form: Roundish; nearly spherical (Hedrick), flattened round (Bunyard).

Stem: Rather short (Bunyard).

Cavity: Rather narrow (Bunyard).

Calyx: Large, open, or a little open (Bunyard).

Basin: Wide and even (Bunyard); deep (Hedrick).

Skin: Thick, a little rough. Thickly or much covered with thin brown russet; Bunyard gives only some rough russet. The ground is golden yellow according to Bunyard and pale dull green according to Hedrick. The cheek is reddish russet (Downing), and Elliott describes the fruit as reddish russet. The fruit also carries a brown-red flush, which Hedrick places as a wash on the face exposed to the sun.

Dots: Not described in source.

Flesh and flavor: Flesh white to greenish white, very firm and crisp. It is a little breaking or semi-breaking, semi-fine, and rarely gritty (Hedrick). Very juicy, saccharine and sweet, without much perfume, and occasionally spoiled by too much acerbity (Hedrick). Hedrick rates its quality "third"; Downing calls it "only fit for cooking."

Core and seeds: Not described in source.

Season

Winter, November or December to February; most authors give November to February.

Uses

A cooking pear. The flesh cooks a rich red (Bunyard).

Subtypes / Variants

Not described in source.

Other

Bunyard refers the name Girofle to Rousselet de Rheims, a separate pear. Bunyard cites Her. Pom., II., 60. Hedrick cites Leroy Dict. Pom. 2:222, with a figure, 1869; Mathieu Nom. Pom. 219, 1889; and, under the name Girogile, Bunyard Handb. Hardy Fr. 177, 1920.