Talk:D'Anjou

Origin of pear

I added that the pear originated "either in Belgium or in the vicinity of Angers in central France," with the citation "Production Practices and Quality Assessment of Food Crops, Volume III." It was removed with the comment "I see no source for the Belgium origin theory." I assume the person read the citation and found it unconvincing, but none of the sources give any real evidence for the origin, they merely say they were raised in France and Belgium in the 1800s, and are thought to have originated there. The name "d'Anjou" certainly suggests it originated in Anjou, but that was one of many names for the pear, and just happens to have stuck. It seems like it was most commonly called the "brown beurré" in English in the early 19th century, beurré meaning "buttered," but there are many varieties of beurré, and the brown buerré had many synonyms. According to the 1831 "A Guide to The Outdoor and Kitchen Garden" p. 367, brown beurrés were also called Beurre Of Duhamel, Beurre Gris, Beurre Rouge, Beurre Dore, Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre d'Or, Beurre d' Ambleuse, Beurre d'Amboise, Poire d'Amboise, and Isambert. According to the 1853 "The book of the garden", they were called "Beurré rouge, Brurré gris, Beurré dore, Beurré vort, Beurré du roi, Beurré d'Anjou, Beurré d'Ambleuse, Beurré d'Ambroise, Golden beurrê, Red beurré, Badhams, Isambert, Isambert le bon." While that book says the variety is from France, this 1879 book says it originated in Belgium. As the modern text I originally cited put it, some authors claim one origin, some claim another. None presents any scientific evidence, and I could see rewording it to better describe the confusion, but I'm going to reinsert Belgium as a possible place of origin. If it is removed, I think a good source should be cited that refutes that theory. -Agyle 19:58, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

My mistake. I found numerous online articles backing Anjou as the origin which (along with the name) is why I felt the likelihood that it actually originated in Belgium was slim. Upon rereading those articles, however, none of them even definitively state a time period of development, so as you mentioned (and the article now correctly reflects) I doubt the place of origin is indisputable either. -Big Smooth 20:10, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I've seen Anjou listed more commonly, but that may just be because the name is so suggestive, even though it may be arbitrary. It seems a lot of different beurrés grew in that Belgium/France region in that era. I should note that the early description of the brown beurré, namely being brown, doesn't fit with either main current U.S. Anjou pear (red or green). The same name may have referred to two different varieties early on, or the red and green may have derived from the brown. If the latter, that would probably be recorded, as the U.S. pomological congress was pretty organized by the 1850s. (They had great pear debates - "I have stricken it from my fields!!") -Agyle 20:37, 10 October 2007 (UTC)

Authoritative answer to origin to be found here: NCGR-Corvallis Pyrus Catalog European Cultivars Anjou = PI 617502 (63.001)

Citation of excerpts: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/acc/search.pl?accid=%20PI+617502

The name and origin of Beurre d'Anjou are somewhat confused. American and British authors refer to this pear as Anjou or Beurre d'Anjou, but Leroy and other continental European writers recognize the variety as Nec Plus Meuris and do not approve of Anjou as being a proper synonym. Apparently the name Anjou or Beurre d'Anjou was erroneously applied to the variety when introduced to America and England. American pomologists have generally attributed the origin of this variety to France, although they cite no specific data as to time or locality. Leroy, on the other hand, states as a fact that the variety originated with Van Mons at Louvain Belgium in 1819 under the name of Nec Plus Meuris. It is interesting to note that the tree labeled Nec Plus Meuris in the variety collection obtained from France in 1913 turned out to be identical with Beurre d'Anjou as the variety is known in the Pacific Northwest.

H. Hartman, Oregon Ag. Experiment Station, 1957.

Anjou. Origin France. Imported in 1842; exhibited by Col. M.P. Wilder in 1844. Synonyms: Beurre d'Anjou, Beurre Niell, Butter of Anjoy, Colniac Bosc. D'Anjou, Fondante du Bois, Nec Plus Meuris, Ne Plus Meuris (of the French), Poire Niell.

W.H. Ragan, Nomenclature of the Pear, 1908

Beurre d'Anjou (of Robert Thompson, 1842). This is a first rate pear, recently imported from France by Col. Wilder, of Boston, which appears to us quite distinct from the Brown Beurre.

A.J. Downing, Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, 1846. —Preceding unsigned comment added by user van Mons on March 12, 2010