Country: PortugalVarzea Bio is a company with two partners whose aim is to stimulate the development of the sultana pear as a gourmet producer.
In August, S. Bartolomeu pears are harvested and immediately afterwards peeled by hand, with a knife or peeler. After peeling, fresh pears are placed in the solar greenhouse, individually and separately, on trays, where they usually spend six days of direct exposure to the sun. This drying process causes the expected changes in flavour, colour and texture of fresh pears in to sultanas pears. After sun drying the fruits are ready to be flattened. In the past they were flattened with a special instrument. Today, and in order to be more competitive, we use a roller machine, which applies pressure individually on each pear. The result is a reddish brown sultana pear with unique organoleptic properties, elastic, sweet and very tasty. They were a rare sweet treat that sweetened the cold nights by the fireplace, and served as a food supplement for the shepherds.
