Pear Lime by Alpe Pragas, mild and fresh
The Pear Lime fruit spread by Alpe Pragas contrasts the gentle sweetness of the Williams pear with a green acidity. The lime is added as whole fruit, contributing its floral notes alongside the acidity. In the 335-gram jar, the spread remains golden yellow, easy to spread, and full of fine fruit pieces.
Pear Lime is the fruit spread from Alpe Pragas in South Tyrol’s Braies Valley, labeled as Pyrus Lime. The Williams pear makes up the bulk, with lime accounting for a good tenth, plus sugar and a little lemon juice, set with apple pectin.
Honey-sweet, with a hint of lime
Upon opening, the soft, almost honey-like scent of ripe pears rises, overlaid by the green citrus note of the lime.
On bread, the pear tastes mild and juicy, as it always does, and that is precisely where the lime comes in. It draws a line of acidity through the sweetness, turning a quiet spread into one with direction.
It sits golden yellow and spreadable on the slice, with fine pieces of fruit that yield softly when chewed. The sugar is restrained, and the aroma remains as bright as that of freshly sliced fruit. The spread remains soft without falling apart because the pear is only heated briefly, allowing the pieces to retain their shape.
Williams Christ, from an English garden
The Williams Christ is among the oldest pears still commercially available, originating in eighteenth-century England.
A schoolmaster in Berkshire grew it in his own garden around 1770, and a nurseryman named Williams popularized it and gave it the name by which it is known throughout half of Europe today. In America, the same fruit is called Bartlett, and everyone knows its aroma from Williams brandy anyway.
Its flesh is soft, juicy, and strongly scented, which makes it suitable for the kettle but unsuitable for long transport. At Alpe Pragas, it is therefore processed ripe rather than packed hard in a crate. It is cooked down briefly so its scent remains in the jar, as that is the first thing to vanish under prolonged heat.
For breakfast and the cheese board
This spread is right at home in the morning on white bread, brioche, and in muesli.
Its true strength lies on the cheese board, where its mild sweetness bridges the gap to blue cheese and goat cheese without overpowering them. It does the same for aged mountain cheese, and a spoonful over panna cotta is enough to make a small dessert. On a sandwich with raw ham and arugula, it takes on the role of a chutney, and served alongside roasted duck, it makes a fruity accompaniment.
Take the jar out of the refrigerator ten minutes before eating, so the pear aroma comes through more clearly than when ice-cold.
The jar for a mild morning
Among the house's varieties, this is the quiet one that doesn't overwhelm anyone, yet never slides into insignificance.
The lime keeps it lively, so that even with the third slice, there is still something happening. And because the pear pairs well with almost all types of cheese, the jar migrates from the breakfast table to the board in the evening. It sits there just as naturally as the knife beside it.
A second variety with lime is Strawberry Lime. What else is being cooked up can be found in the Alpe Pragas fruit spreads, and the entire house is showcased in the Alpe Pragas assortment.
