Sometimes you see that kind of thing when unicode is not properly converted, it could be the French � is getting the label printer confused. Unicode is the new number-character mapping for computers that supports all the languages of the world so needs to use up to four ASCII characters to represent one character. Sometimes you see the same kind of thing here when people paste from some program into their message and the unicode doesn't get properly converted. Scott PS notice GW even got confused on unicode, the � was one of those French e with accent over it when I typed it above -- é.

Here's an abstract from a technical paper: - - - - STORAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF SPARTLETT PEAR Author: M. Meheriuk Abstract: Size in Spartlett pear was considerably larger than in Bartlett pear (380 g vs 180 g). Late harvested Spartlett pears were lighter in skin color, had less titratable acidity and were lower in firmness than earlier harvested fruit at harvest and during storage. Senescent scald was always present in Spartlett pears stored in air for 180 days but could appear as early as 120 days of air storage. Quality parameters in 2% O2 + 2% CO2 or 3% O2 + 5% CO2 were comparable but superior to those in air storage. Controlled-atmosphere storage prevented senescent scald and reduced the incidence and severity of core breakdown. The cultivar has a shelf-life of 7-10 days and can be stored under controlled atmosphere in excess of 180 days - - - - Another site said hardy but susceptible to fireblight. Should be able to locate more info with a brief search Here is a link that might be useful: abstract

I usually taste a bit of the fruit - with the peel - before I can them. I got some pears last year from a local organic farmer that had a tender, flavorful peel, so I didn't bother peeling them. The next time I bought them, the peel was tougher, so naturally I peeled that batch. 9 times out of 10 I do peel stone fruits like apples, peaches and pears, especially if I don't know if they were sprayed with chemicals.

Well, Dave's already quoted me (Thank you Dave!) so you already have my answer. For what it's worth, if you're going to layer chocolate in with the pear, I wouldn't boiling water bath it but refrigerate or do what the Europeans do and shelve it with the assumption of a shorter shelf life. Imagine what heat hitting that layer of chocolate will likely do to its texture and appearance. It may seize up or melt into an unappealing brown ribbon in the preserve. Personally I'm not a fan of chocolate in preserves, so my inclination would be to make plain pear preserves and if serving for guests find my prettiest glass dish to put them in then shave some large generous pieces of really good chocolate over the top. Carol