Bradford Pears The Bradford pear, Pyrus calleryana "Bradford", is an ornamental variety of the Callery pear, as is the "Kieffer" variety. It has an upright structure that reaches a height of 30 feet, but it is a short lived tree when compared to the Pyrus pyrifolia, or Asian pear. The Bradford also suffers from a weak branch structure, and the upreaching branches tend to split away from the trunk in advanced years if debris is allowed to accumulate and rot in the joints. The Callery has more open branches and resists this tendency. Be that as it may be, the Bradford is popular in Texas and found throughout the state.
The fruit of the Bradford is hard when green and hard when ripe. Its skin tends to discolor slightly and, like the Kieffer, the meat is somewhat gritty. It is a "cooking pear," as my mother called them, but makes an acceptable wine. Because of its hardness, it is not as juicy a pear as the Bartlett, but it does resist fire blight fairly well, and that makes it attractive to grow in a state where fire blight can be a problem.
Wash and chop the pears into 1/2 inch pieces with peeling intact, bring to a boil in 7 pints water, then simmer for not more than 20 minutes (or the wine may not clear later). Allow to cool to lukewarm and pour into nylon sieve, saving all liquids. Hand mash and squeeze the pulp lightly to extract as much juice as possible without forcing pulp through the sieve. Pour the liquor onto the sugar in a crock or pail, stirring well to dissolve. Add the lemon juice, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrients. When cooled to 75 degrees F., transfer to fermentation bottle, add a wine yeast starter, and fit fermentation trap. Rack after first (vigorous) fermentation (5-7 days), top up with water, then rack again after 2 months and again after additional 2 months. Bottle if clear. If wine does not clarify on its own, add finings, rack again when clear (7-10 days), and bottle. Taste it after 6 months, but allow a year for best body and flavor. This wine may be spiced during cooking with two 3-inch cinnamon sticks and 15-20 cloves in a spice bag. These are removed before extracting the juices from the pears. The spiced wine is a very nice treat during the Christmas holidays the following year. [Author's own recipe]
Wash and chop the pears into 1/2 inch pieces with peeling intact, bring to a boil in 7 pints water, then simmer for not more than 20 minutes (or the wine may not clear later). Allow to cool to lukewarm and pour into nylon sieve, saving all liquids. Hand mash and squeeze the pulp lightly to extract as much juice as possible without forcing pulp through the sieve. Pour the liquor onto the sugar in a crock or pail, stirring well to dissolve. Add the lemon juice, pectic enzyme, and yeast nutrients. When cooled to 75 degrees F., transfer to fermentation bottle, add a wine yeast starter, and fit fermentation trap. Rack after first (vigorous) fermentation (5-7 days), top up with water, then rack again after 2 months and again after additional 2 months. Bottle if clear. If wine does not clarify on its own, add finings, rack again when clear (7-10 days), and bottle. Taste it after 6 months, but allow a year for best body and flavor. [Author's own recipe]