Basic Introduction to Pangshan Crisp Pear
The Pangshan Crisp Pear is a renowned fruit in China. It is famous for its large size, bright yellow color, thin skin, abundant juice, ample flesh, small core, and sweet, crispy texture, making it well-known both domestically and internationally.
The Pangshan Crisp Pear contains sugars, minerals, organic acids, and various vitamins, making it a highly nutritious fruit and an excellent choice among fruits. Apart from being consumed fresh, it can also be processed into pear wine, pear paste, pear candy, and canned goods, serving as an important raw material for the food industry. Pear juice and pear paste have medicinal properties that can cool the body, clear phlegm, relieve coughs, and moisten the lungs, making them popular auxiliary remedies. The main varieties of the Pangshan Crisp Pear include Golden Cap Crisp, White Skin Crisp, Green Skin Crisp, and Summer Crisp, with the Golden Cap Crisp being the highest quality. In 1987, Pangshan County produced over 100 million pounds of pears.
The Pangshan Crisp Pear not only sells well in the domestic market but is also very popular internationally. Since its entry into the international market in 1958, annual exports have exceeded 4 million pounds, reaching more than 40 countries and regions.
Varietal Origin: Native to Pangshan, Anhui Province, this is an ancient, high-quality local variety. There are four sub-varieties: White Skin Crisp, Green Skin Crisp, Golden Cap Crisp, and Summer Crisp. The White Skin Crisp is considered the best. Suitable Cultivation Areas: Cultivated in Anhui, Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Longdong in Gansu, southern Xinjiang, and Kunming in Yunnan. Cultivation Points: (1) Pollinator varieties include Jin Feng pear, duck pear, Cili pear, Purple Crisp pear, and Snowflake pear. (2) Pay attention to soil, fertilizer, and water management. (3) Pay attention to controlling black spot disease, stink bugs, and fruit rust.
The Pangshan Crisp Pear is suitable for both raw and cooked consumption, enjoyed by people of all ages. “Eating it raw can clear the heat of the six organs; eating it cooked can nourish the yin of the five zang organs,” and it has high medicinal value, making it favored by people across different social strata for centuries. The Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 30, provides detailed records, and clinical evidence shows that the Pangshan Crisp Pear can quench thirst, stimulate saliva production, dispel heat and summer heat, dissolve phlegm and moisten the lungs, relieve coughing and wheezing, nourish yin and reduce fire, cool the heart, and detoxify, earning it the title of “the nectar of fruits, the holy elixir of medicines” by generations of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Nutritional Value
The green food, the Pangshan Crisp Pear, is famous for its large size, small core, bright yellow appearance, thin skin, abundant juice, crisp texture, and sweet taste. Its fruit is rich in nutrients, containing multiple essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, with an average sugar content of around 13%. Regular consumption benefits consumers' physical and mental health. The Pangshan Crisp Pear is suitable for both raw and cooked consumption, enjoyed by people of all ages. “Eating it raw can clear the heat of the six organs; eating it cooked can nourish the yin of the five zang organs,” and it has high medicinal value, making it favored by people across different social strata for centuries. The Compendium of Materia Medica, Volume 30, provides detailed records, and clinical evidence shows that the Pangshan Crisp Pear can quench thirst, stimulate saliva production, dispel heat and summer heat, dissolve phlegm and moisten the lungs, relieve coughing and wheezing, nourish yin and reduce fire, cool the heart, and detoxify, earning it the title of “the nectar of fruits, the holy elixir of medicines” by generations of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Product Characteristics
Varietal Characteristics: The fruit is nearly cylindrical in shape, with a flat top that is slightly wider, averaging 250 grams per fruit, with some reaching over 1000 grams; the skin is greenish-yellow, turning yellow after storage; the fruit dots are small and dense; the core is small, and the flesh is white, medium-coarse, crisp, juicy, and very sweet, with stone cells; the soluble solids content is 11%–14%, the soluble sugar content is 7.35%, the titratable acid content is 0.10%, and the vitamin C content is 2.21 mg per 100g. The tree is strong, with a bud break rate of 82%, and generally produces two long shoots below the cut. It begins to bear fruit three to four years after planting. It mainly bears fruit on short fruit branches, with a strong ability to bear fruit on axillary flower buds. Short fruit branches account for 65%, axillary flower buds 20%, medium fruit branches 7%, and long fruit branches 8%; it is productive and can achieve consistent yields with good management. It is extremely adaptable, with no strict requirements for soil and climate conditions, tolerating poor soils, moderate cold resistance, and moderate disease resistance. It matures in mid-September in Xingcheng, Liaoning, with a fruit development period of 135 days and a vegetative growth period of 207 days.
Historical Folklore
Pangshan is a historic town. The cultivation history of the Pangshan Crisp Pear dates back 2,500 years. The “Annals of Xu Prefecture” compiled during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty already had records of “Pangshan producing pears.” This suggests that the cultivation of the Pangshan Crisp Pear had already formed a scale 400 years ago. However, its large-scale development did not occur until after liberation, particularly after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The county party committee and government of Pangshan focused on the production of crisp pears, causing the area under fruit cultivation to rapidly increase to today's 750,000 mu, accounting for 77% of the total arable land in the county. Of this, 500,000 mu is devoted to the cultivation of crisp pears, which is the largest contiguous area of its kind in the world. The annual output of crisp pears is around 400,000 tons, with a storage capacity of 150,000 tons for fresh fruit.
The name of Pangshan County comes from Mount Mang and Mount Pang, yet it is known worldwide for its abundant production of crisp pears. What was once a barren wasteland is now a sea of fruit and a green oasis, earning it the title of “Pear Capital” in 1994. During the spring when flowers bloom like waves and the autumn when the harvest is plentiful, the 860,000 people of Pangshan warmly welcome friends from home and abroad to visit the “Pear Capital” for sightseeing, inspection, trade, and investment. The Pangshan Crisp Pear will make your life even sweeter.
Awards and Honors for Pangshan Crisp Pear
During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty and the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, it was designated as a tribute product.
After liberation, the national leaders Mao Zedong, Hu Yaobang, and others praised it highly after tasting it. To this day, it is well-known far and wide, enjoying a reputation that spans the globe.
In 1985 at the National Quality Specialty Product Evaluation Conference, the Pangshan Crisp Pear was rated as one of the country's specialty fruits;
In 1992, it won the highest award at the National Green Food Expo;
In 1993, it received the “Dragon and Horse Gold Medal” at the Thailand International Expo;
In 1995 and 1997, it consecutively won gold medals at the National Agricultural Exposition. The China Green Food Development Center appraised it and awarded it the green food mark.