The Story Of Harry & David: Entrepreneur
Samuel Rosenberg had no farming
experience but was inspired in 1909 to
buy the orchards that produced the award-
winning Royal Riviera pears.

Harry & David, America’s favorite source for gourmet food gifts, celebrates its diamond anniversary this year. Seventy-five years ago, entrepreneur Samuel Rosenberg paid $300,000 for 237 acres of pear orchards that grew the Doyenne du Comice pear, now known as the Royal Riviera pear.

Developed in France in 1849, it was called “the fruit of kings” because it was favored by royalty. Difficult to grow, the Comice demaded a delicate climate and soil combination found in few regions of the world…but one of those places turned out to be Medford, Oregon, in the Rogue River Valley.

Introduced there in 1897, the pear—which can weigh as much as a pound—thrived in the Bear Creek Orchard, established in 1886. The original owner sold the orchard in 1900, and the new owner set a world record for crop yield. After seeing an exhibit of the orchard’s award-winning Comice and d’Anjou pears, Samuel Rosenberg inquired about the property.

The interesting thing is that his two sons, Harry and David, attended Cornell University’s School of Agriculture with the intent of raising prize-winning merino ship. But the premature death of their father, from pneumonia, took them on a detour—and turned them into one of the most beloved names in fine fruit.

The Comice pear has a stubby, almost round shape with green skin; it often has a significant red blush on one cheek. It is best eaten as a hand fruit, or paired with blue cheese as a dessert.

Twice the size of a typical Anjou, Bartlett
or Bosc pear, one juicy Royal Riviera pear is
at least two fruit servings. Photo by
Hannah Kaminsky | THE NIBBLE.

We taste so many refined carbs in the course of our work day that we were thrilled to receive a gift box of Harry & David’s Royal Riviera pears, in season through February. Enormous, creamy, juicy and good-for-you, they’re a treat for the family or a gift for friends and clients who prefer the healthy life to receiving boxes of fudge. (We’re omnivores—send it all!)

How big are Royal Riviera pears? Helped by a lush rainfall this season, ours weighed about 13.5 ounces each, had a diameter of 3-1/2 inches and had “hips” (measured around the broadest part) of 11-1/4 inches! Grown in Harry & David’s orchards in Southern Oregon, they are transplants of the Doyenne du Comice pears France, grafted onto a sturdier American pear rootstock. The variety surfaced in France in 1849 and came to Oregon’s Rogue River Valley, home of Harry & David (Medford, OR) in 1897. “Doyenne du Comice“ translates to “Top of Show.”

We enjoyed our Royal Rivieras with some of our favorite blue cheeses from Harry & David’s Oregon neighbor, Rogue Creamery (co-owner David Gremmels is one of the greatest American cheesemakers). We had his cheeses in our fridge, but a gift box of this “pear-ing” is available through Harry & David, along with pears-only from $29.95 and up. Should you be so fortunate as to receive too many pears to eat up as hand fruit, the variety is excellent sliced into salads, baked (plain, like baked apples, or in a tart) and poached (one of our favorite desserts).

If you turn to orange juice for vitamin C, you should know that tropical fruit juices like guava and mango have even more vitamin C per serving. They also have more layers of flavor. Natural food markets and chains like Whole Foods are one source to find tropical juices; international supermarkets catering to Latino, Indian and Pac Rim customers are also great sources. Don’t overlook frozen juice concentrates—they’re generally just as delicious and less expensive (many bottled juices are reconstituted from concentrate, too—read the labels). Grown in the U.S., currant juice has four times the vitamin C of O.J. and twice the antioxidants of blueberries. The best juice you can drink is Montmorency cherry juice, with the highest antioxidants of all fruits.

• See some of THE NIBBLE’s favorite juices.

  
  

• Read the history of the peach: It comes from China!
• Make some peach recipes: peach ice cream, cobbler, even peach salsa.
• Have a healthy peach smoothie.

• Read our review of The Perfect PurĂ©e of Napa Valley. The purĂ©es are amazing!
• Get the scoop on peaches: Take a look at our article, Peach Facts. Impress your friends with peach trivia.

This dried pineapple will satisfy the most
demanding sweet tooth. Photo by Emily
Chang | THE NIBBLE.

Dried fruit is a time-honored backpackers’ staple and children’s snack. It wins hearts for its nutritional value and sturdiness. It can add a burst of flavor to salads and baked goods. But it doesn’t always satisfy a sweet tooth.

Sunsweet’s new dried Philippine Pineapple changes that perspective. It’s like pineapple candy with serious nutritional benefits: one cup of pineapple delivers a whopping 94% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C. The pineapple bites have excellent texture and manage to avoid the pitfalls of other dried pineapple. They’re neither stringy nor chewy, but are light and juicy—moist and almost candied. A citrus undernote balances the sweetness, making this dried pineapple ideal for both savory and sweet dishes and for spicing up your favorite snack mix—as well as for snacking out of the bag. Sunsweet attributes the difference to ideal growing conditions in the Philippines, at elevations of 2,000 to 3,000 feet, where cooler temperatures add more moisture to the finished product, versus pineapple grown in hotter climates and/or at lower elevations.

Sunsweet Philippine Pineapple doesn’t taste like fresh pineapple, as the bag claims—it lacks the racing acidity—but anyone who enjoys pineapple will appreciate it. The SRP for a 6-ounce bag is $3.99. It’s easy to keep the resealable bag at work or in the car or gym bag for an energy lift, to eat with yogurt or salads, as “dessert” with lunch, or as a snack with a cup of tea.

• Learn more about limes in THE NIBBLE’s Lime Glossary.
• True Lemon and True Lime are convenient powdered packets that let you flavor water, iced tea, etc. wherever you are.
• Use fresh key lime juice to make a delicious Key lime pie.
• If you prefer lemons to limes, mix yourself a Lemon Meringue Martini.
  

• See our Edible Arrangements review of beautifully sculpted fruit baskets.
• Check out our Gourmet Fruits and Nuts page for more fruit ideas.

The maraschino cherry is no longer a bad-tasting joke. Tillen Farms has created a delicious, all natural maraschino cherry—no artificial colors or flavors, no sulfites or preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup. (And we’ve been feeding these “standard” maraschino cherries to kids, who gobble up all that bad stuff!)

Now you can bring peace of mind to parents and happiness of palate to hot fudge sundaes and Shirley Temples, not to mention adult fare like a Tom Collins or a Manhattan. Tillen Farms all-natural Merry Maraschino Cherries are the way to go with maraschino, made only with cherries, water, sugar, vegetable and fruit concentrate (for color) and natural flavor.

If you happen to have some cherry liqueur/kirsch, drain 10%-20% of the liquid from the jar and replace it with liqueur. The kids may not like it, but you will. Brandy works, too.

The cherries are $6.99 for a 14-ounce jar. If you want to buy a 12-jar case for gifts, stocking stuffers, etc., the price goes down to $6.39 per jar. You can purchase Merry Maraschinos online at TillenFarms.com. Individual bottles are available at fine food stores nationwide. The product is gluten free.

By the way, the ubiquitous maraschino cherries were once quite elite:

Life can be a bowl of maraschino cherries.

The Marasca cherry (Prunus cerasus var. marasca) is a type of sour Morello cherry that grows largely in Bosnia, Croatia, Herzegovina, northern Italy and Slovenia. With a bitter taste and a drier pulp than other cherry varieties, they are ideal to make cherry (maraschino) liqueur. The cherries were originally preserved in the liqueur as a delicacy for royalty and the wealthy.

The Marasca cherry tree is very fussy about where it will grow, so in the U.S., the Royal Ann variety is substituted as a “faux” maraschino. The FDA’s Standard of Identity defines maraschino cherries as “cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar and packed in a sugar sirup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor.”

This “strawberry napoleon” is the perfect
end to an all-strawberry menu at your
strawberry dinner party. Photos courtesy
California Strawberry Commission.

When most people think of strawberries they think of jams, ice cream, and shortcake. But, strawberry recipes span much more than confections; you can create an entire dinner from them. We’ve done just that with the help of the California Strawberry Commission. After you’ve taken a bite from the recipes below, you’ll find many more at CalStrawberry.com

From pre-dinner drinks, to a Syrah glaze for a pork entrée that will have you licking your chops, give these recipes a try.

On the menu:

• Page 1: Sweet and Spicy Absinthe Cocktail
• Page 2: Spicy Syrah-Glazed Pork Chops With Couscous Pilaf
• Page 3: Strawberry & Cucumber Salad
• Page 4: Strawberry Macaroon Napoleons
• Page 5: Strawberry Mango Smoothie