Choke pear (plant) facts for kids

A choke pear is a type of pear fruit that tastes very astringent. This means it has a sharp, dry, or bitter taste that makes your mouth feel puckered. It's often hard to swallow because of this strong taste.

Different Kinds of Choke Pears

One famous type of choke pear is called poire d'Angoisse. This pear was grown a long time ago in the Middle Ages in a place called Angoisse in France. It was known for being very hard, tasting bad, and almost impossible to eat raw.

The French language has an old saying, "avaler des poires d'angoisse." This means "to swallow pears of Angoisse/anguish." It's used to describe suffering great unhappiness or troubles. The name "choke pear" and "pear of anguish" were also used for a device that was supposedly used in Europe long ago. This device was named after the pear because it would cause a similar choking or gagging feeling.

Like many pears that taste sour, choke pears were probably used to make perry. Perry is an alcoholic drink similar to cider, but made from pears instead of apples.

Fruits That Are Similar

There are other fruits with similar names because of their strong, bitter taste. These include the choke cherry and the choke plum. Choke cherries are small, bitter-tasting fruits from several types of cherry trees found in North America.