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Three Counties Perry
United Kingdom
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Perry is a delightful and traditional English drink, whose existence is unknown to many people. It is made from the fermented juice of perry pears (in a similar way to cider made from apples). Perry pears are a small, bitter fruit, almost impossible to eat, and should not be confused with the normal dessert pears. It is possible to find some perry that is partially made from dessert pears, as opposed to perry pears: this product has little or nothing to commend it and is not real perry.Almost all commercially-made British perry today is produced in the three counties area of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, with the bulk of it being made in Herefordshire. Most, if not all, perry is made by producers who also made cider and in almost every case cider is the producers principal product. The product can effectively only be made in areas where there are perry pear trees. Historically perry, like cider, was made on the farm principally for consumption by the farmers family and workers. Although much authentic cider is made in the Somerset and Devon areas of England, as well as some in East Anglia and the eastern side of mid-Wales, little or no perry is made commercially outside the three counties. It is known that some perry (poiré) is made in France (Normandy), but it is not yet clear whether this is made from dessert pears or perry pears.
There is a large number (over 100) of different species of perry pear tree, but many varieties are down to single figures and are in danger of disappearing completely. The drink itself has some general similarities with cider, but many people would argue that it has more subtlety. Real perry contains no additives, it can be dry, medium or sweet in taste, still or sparkling. The quality can vary from rough like scrumpy cider to an almost wine-like drink. Perry is available on draught in a small number of pubs,but is mostly bottled. Perry is not suited to large-scale production: the making of it can be difficult and good quality perry requires considerable skill. Under present market conditions the few remaining producers appear to be doing it because of their love of the product: few if any of them could make a living purely from perry.
There is little or no marketing of perry: no individual makes enough of it for this to be a feasible proposition at present. The result is that as time goes by, fewer people are aware of its existence, and less is produced each year. There is a producers organisation called the Three Counties Cider and Perry Association. Ludlow Marches Slow Food convivium, whose area includes much of the perry production region, has made informal contact with the Three Counties association with a view to ascertaining what Slow Food can do to help protect and preserve this unique product.
Perry can be bought, with some difficulty, at a small number of specialist shops in other parts of Britain, but most perry is primarily consumed in the traditional perry and cider areas.
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