Pears are one of the world’s favorite orchard fruits. According to archeologists, we have been eating pears longer than we have been writing and growing them since 2000 BC. Oddly, in the United States, pears are often a forgotten fruit, and we only produce about 700,000 tonnes of them annually, most of which go into jams, jellies, and preserves. Our question today is, do pears have quercetin?
Quick Answer: Yes – Pears do contain quercetin. Compared to other similar foods, their quercetin content is high.
Quercetin Content of Pears
Pears contain 4.24mg/100g of quercetin and are rich in fiber, vitamin K, and potassium.
Are Pears High in Quercetin?
Compared to other foods, pears are very high in quercetin.
Let’s take a look at how they compare to 5 similar foods.
- Pears far exceed peaches in quercetin content. A typical peach provides only 0.66mg/100g of quercetin.
- Apples have slightly less quercetin than pears containing 4.01mg/100g.
- Green grapes offer 1.12mg/100g of quercetin, roughly 37% of that found in pears.
- Red plums provide 1.79mg/100g quercetin, 2.45mg less than pears.
- Another common orchard fruit, persimmons, contains no quercetin.
Sources:
USDA Database for the Flavonoid Content of Selected Foods: https://www.ars.usda.gov/arsuserfiles/80400525/data/flav/flav_r03.pdf
Joan Morgan (2015). The Book of Pears: The Definitive History and Guide to Over 500 Varieties. Chelsea Green Publishing. ISBN 978-1603586665.
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization: https://www.fao.org/common-pages/search/en/?q=pear
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
