The Sapiezanka pear, also called Bergamotka, is a typical variety of Polish pear (and can also be classified with other varieties under these same names).
Its origins go back to at least the 16th century and could be originally French or Lithuanian. They were once thought to be widespread also in the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
This variety quite resistant to freezing, but also susceptible to diseases that do not give a good harvest every year.
They are known as a small, spherical fruit. The outside colour ranges from greyish- to yellowish-green and its skin is often thick and rough.
The flesh is creamy-white, soft and juicy, sweet-tasting and slightly spicy.
It has a particularity: when cooked, its flesh becomes slightly reddish and that is why it is also called “Jesienna Czerwona” (autumn red).
It is excellent eaten raw, as a dessert, or used in making jams and compotes. Because of the good consistency of its flesh, it can be dried or used to prepare a local recipe, pickled pears.
It is harvested in early September.
In general it is not very widespread, given its small palatability in terms of economy and yield. It is not espaliered but rather grown in traditional orchards.
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