Madernassa Pear

This rustic pear from the Roero region has a thin, hard and smooth skin, dark green tending to yellow in colour, sometimes with a red hue on the part exposed to sunlight and dotted with tiny grey lenticels and rusty spots. Its slightly yellowish pulp is crunchy, firm and perfumed. Small in size, sweet but somewhat tannic, it is a classic cooking pear, ingredient of an ancient recipe from Langhe and Roero area where the fruit is cooked in wine, together with sugar, cinnamon and cloves. During the last thirty years it has gained popularity especially in the sandy solis of the left side of river Tanaro and on the hills encompassed by the towns of Canale, Guarene and Castagnito, but isolated trees can be found throughout the whole province of Cuneo (Piedmont).