Pear

Why pear is rated high

Pear is rated high, and it is unusual in carrying two heavy hitters at once: excess fructose, which means more fructose than glucose in the fruit, and sorbitol on top of it. That combination is why pear is one of the fruits most often flagged on a low FODMAP diet. The low serve is only a sliver: about 4g is low, a larger portion is moderate and a much larger portion, such as a whole pear, is high. Pear is normally set aside during the strict phase and revisited later with a dietitian.

What changes your risk

• Serving size About 4g, a sliver, is low. Larger portions are moderate and much larger portions are high, so a whole or half pear is well past the low serve.
• Pear juice and nectar Juice concentrates the sugars of several pears into one glass and leaves the fibre behind, so it runs higher than the whole fruit. Pear juice concentrate also turns up as a sweetener in bars, baby food and fruit spreads, where it brings the excess fructose with it.
• Drying Dried pear has had the water taken out, so the same fructose and sorbitol sit in a far smaller piece. That makes dried pear in muesli or a snack mix very easy to overshoot.
• Poaching and canning Poaching or baking a pear does not break its FODMAPs down, because heat does not destroy them. Water soluble FODMAPs can pass into the poaching or canning liquid, but tinned pears are still pear, so they are not a way around the rating.
• Stacking A low FODMAP meal counts the total. Excess fructose stacks with honey, agave, high fructose corn syrup, apple, mango and watermelon, and the sorbitol side stacks with plum, apricot and sorbitol sweetened gum or mints.

Swaps

For the sweet fruit that goes with cheese, strawberries or orange segments stand in well and sit happily next to cheddar, parmesan or swiss. Oranges and mandarins bring the juice, kiwi brings the sharpness, and cantaloupe, pineapple and strawberries all work sliced into a salad where pear would have gone. For sweetening a dressing, a compote or a baked dish, use maple syrup, table sugar or rice malt syrup rather than honey or agave, which carry the same excess fructose problem pear does. Apple is not a swap for pear, and plum and apricot share its sorbitol, so they do not solve anything either.

How to lower the load

Pear travels under other names, so it is worth scanning labels for pear juice concentrate in cereal bars, fruit purees, squeezy pouches and no added sugar spreads, where it does the sweetening quietly. In restaurants, pear shows up sliced into autumn salads and on cheese boards, so ask for it to be left off and request strawberries instead if they have them. At home, build the same plate deliberately: a hard cheese, a few strawberries, walnuts or pecans, and gluten free crackers will give you the sweet, salty, crunchy combination that a pear and cheese plate is really about, without the fruit that causes the trouble.

Common questions

is pear high fodmap

Yes, in any normal amount. About 4g is low, but larger portions are moderate and much larger portions, such as a whole pear, are high, with both excess fructose and sorbitol involved.

is pear high in fructose

Pear carries excess fructose, meaning more fructose than glucose, and it also carries sorbitol. Both build quickly past about 4g.

is pear juice low fodmap

No. Juicing concentrates the sugars of several pears into one glass and removes the fibre, so pear juice runs higher than the whole fruit, which is already high in a normal serve.

what can i use instead of pear on a cheese board

Strawberries or orange segments are the easiest swap, with hard cheeses such as cheddar, parmesan or swiss. Avoid apple, plum and blackberry as substitutes, since they carry the same groups pear does.