Pear is the Jamaican name for what we call avocado in the US. Avocado, especially in Florida, comes in different shapes and sizes. Pears on supermarket shelves are attractive and displayed to confuse shoppers about which to take home. It is said that avocados (pears) originated in Mexico, were introduced to Spain, and somehow found their way in wide varieties in Jamaica.
Looking at these pears in Florida, I can only think about the bulla, bread, dumplings, and breakfast food that would go well with the cut green and yellow peeled slices.
I was hungry for a slice or two or three pieces of the pear, so I brought home the most attractive green-looking ripe pear, you know; the ones we loved from back home. I also bought a pack of bullas in anticipation of enjoying both. My mouth watered as I cut each slice from the top to the bottom of the pear. I must have gotten six good slices.
I bit into my first bulla, peeled down one slice of pear, and followed up with a big bite. It wasn’t what I expected, but I continued to enjoy what I remembered as bulla and pear. I ate two slices of pear to match my one bulla. At the end of it all, my stomach felt sick. I could not recognize what was happening, so I went back to the pear, looked it over, and discovered it was much softer than I recalled eating pear in Jamaica. I called up my friend in Florida, to tell…
