Fruit
Conference
A tier
Conference is Britain's and much of northern Europe's everyday pear—elongated, russet-netted green, sweet, and reliably productive. Flesh is fine, juicy, and slightly firm-melting; less musky than Williams. Excellent raw and still solid for light cooking. Ripen until giving at the neck. Lunchboxes, tarts, and slicing. Handles cooler climates better than many melting French types. Supermarket default across the UK. Shoppers meeting Conference for the first time should taste it plain before masking it; the Reliable Cropper profile is easier to remember that way.
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Traits
History
Thomas Rivers raised Conference, named after the National British Pear Conference.
Conference became the dominant British commercial pear.
Dutch and Belgian orchards also scaled Conference heavily.
Conference remained northern Europe's volume dessert pear.