Conference and Rocha are the only pears available in all retailers at this time of year.
Conference is the nation’s favourite pear, familiar to everyone and available all year round from UK, Holland and Belgium.
Rocha, on the other hand, is a bit of an unsung hero: the pride of Portugal, this small round pear is delicious, being reliably sweet and good to eat in a crisp or soft state. Few retailers do it justice, often plonking small calibre fruit into unappealing bags or selling unduly green examples which don’t have the best flavour. However, Asda, M&S and Waitrose do seem to try harder than most with larger calibres or ripe n’ ready options. Make Portugal proud!