Journalist and entrepreneur Tatxo Benet has officially kicked off the harvest of the PDO Pera de Lleida Conference pear.
"I am delighted to promote the fruit of Lleida and to take part in this event of the PDO Pera de Lleida. When I lived in Lleida and my family had fruit, people already said it was necessary to do something to promote good fruit and seek a modern and efficient distribution system, and now it is done, and things are getting better and better," he said.
A shorter, but higher quality harvest
This year, the heat has caused the harvest of the PDO Pera de Lleida to start 10-15 days earlier. As a result, in the first week of August, the harvest of the Blanquilla variety has overlapped with that of the Conference.
The Conference pear, which is the last one to be harvested out of the three varieties under the umbrella of the PDO, is usually picked in the second half of August and accounts for 66% of the total volume harvested, while the Limonera (the first to be harvested) accounts for 18% and the Blanquilla for 16%.
In general, the European apple and pear campaign has been shorter than on other occasions, and the companies that are part of the PDO expect this year's yield to amount to around 9.5 million kilos. Out of that volume, approximately three-quarters will meet the strict requirements of the PDO Pera de Lleida.
In addition to advancing the start of the harvest, the heat has also allowed the fruit to reach the Brix degrees that it needs to be sweet. Thus, the pears of the PDO Pera de Lleida are arriving with optimal taste conditions and a good russeting in the case of the Conference variety.
Recipe book
At this time, the main promotional action of the PDO is the charitable sale of its first recipe book: "40 recipes with PDO Pera de Lleida pears", written by the Lleida food designer Alexa Trilla.
Promotional actions for the 2020-2021 campaign
Regarding the promotion of the PDO Pera de Lleida for this campaign, work is being done to improve its presence on social media with recipes and nutritional advice. The idea is to attract more consumers
For more information: https://peradelleida.es