Originally from Asia, the pear tree has existed since the Neolithic era, as evidenced by the numerous pear seeds found in archeological sites.

It seems that pear trees were first cultivated in China earlier than 4000 BC, but it was the Romans who developed their cultivation in Europe, as they knew how to graft and prune trees and so created different varieties. There were about sixty varieties by the end of the Roman Empire in 476 AD.

They ate them raw or cooked, or even sundried.

To judge by the name of certain varieties in the Middle Ages, the "rosy pebble" or the "choke pear", it can be assumed that pears did not taste great back then! They improved in the 18th century thanks to a Belgian monk, Nicolas Hardenpont, who created the first variety that had taste and was juicy. But before that, La Quintinie, Louis XIV's gardener, who cultivated various pear trees in Versailles, had established a system of classifying pears as good or bad.

Pears were considered a royal fruit and were given to the Kings of France during their coronation in Reims.