Low in sodium, fat and calories, fresh pears have no cholesterol and provide a source of dietary fiber, vitamin C and folate.
Ripen pears at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag with a couple of ripe bananas. When the pear is ripe, refrigerate until you are ready to eat it.
Taylor's gold is thought to be a chance seedling or mutation of a Comice, discovered in New Zealand in the late 1980's.
In The Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer calls pears a "gift of the gods."
Early colonists brought the first trees to America where they thrived until blights became severe. Most pears are now grown west of the Rockies where diseases are less of a problem.