A couple of nice ripe Conference pears for me.

Plant a conference Pear tree.

Eagerly I scooped out are handfuls of the offending fruit and within minutes the floor of the barn w littered with Bramley's seedlings and Conference pears.

But Craig, the fresh-faced lad in his twenties arranging the bags of conference pears, is having none of it, preferring a bacon and fried egg sandwich on white bread.

The poaching time will vary depending on the variety of pear and degree of ripeness - conference pears are ideal because they won't fall into pieces as softer varieties can.

We tend to always go for the Conference pear, but we should remember to branch out and try different varieties such as the William Bartlett, Commis and Concorde pears.