‘Yungen’ (it's pear fruit is the 'European pear type')(This cultivar is also known as 'Paragon' , as 'PI 617677', and as 'PI 688179')
The quality of it's fruit is '8 out of 9', or better.
'Yungen' produces annually. It's fruit starts to ripen at the same time as ‘Beurré Bosc’, and as ‘Seckle’. It's fruit starts to ripen just before ‘Doyenne du Comice’, and about a month after 'Bartlett’, it's fruit ripens in mid-September in Southwest Idaho. It blooms with ‘Beurré Bosc’, with 'Honeysweet', and with 'Seckle'.
3+ years to first fruit (precocious). It's fruits are large, juicy, with a honey-like sweet flavor, they are very buttery, very similar to 'Doyenne du Comice', they are just like 'Comice in the skin of a Bartlett', unlike 'Comice', the skin is thin and is 'far from unpleasant'. When properly ripe the peel will melt in your mouth. It's fruit keeps a good texture and quality for a minimum of three months at 0 deg. C. It's fruit needs to sit in a fridge for a minimum chilling of 14 days, in order to ensure uniform fruit ripening.
'Yungen' is believed to be a cross of 'Bartlett - Max Red' and 'Doyenne du Comice', regardless it's fruit does not have any red skin color. It's fruit is about the same size and shape as 'Bartlett', just a bit lumpier, the green skin color changes to yellow as it's fruit ripens, it's exquisite flavor and texture is similar to the fruit of 'Doyenne du Comice', yet it's flavor was rated as even better than 'Doyenne du Comice' at the SOREC pear tasting in 2013.
'Yungen' has a moderately vigorous to vigorous upright growth habit that highly resembles the growth habit of 'Doyenne du Comice', yet hybrids made with 'Bartlett - Max Red' often don't have lots of vigor. ‘Yungen’ was observed to be susceptible to fire blight in 2016, yet if so most likely weakly susceptible. ‘Yungen’ is highly disease resistant.
'Yungen' originated in Medford, Oregon. The cultivar was a selection from the old "Reimer Block" at the OSU Experiment Station in Medford, it's high fruit quality attracted the attention of local growers in the 1980s. The cross may have been made by Frank Reimer in the 1950s, or maybe by someone else after he retired (Vaughn Quackenbush?). 'Yungen' was discovered by Dr. David Sugar at Mid-Columbia Research Station, Oregon.
Formally known as/named 'Paragon', yet that name was changed to 'Yungen' out of respect for John A. Yungen, a former professor of 'Oregon State University', he worked at the university's 'Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center', the dedication was in appreciation of his years of service and for his fondness of Dr. David Sugar.
The ‘Yungen’ pear and the ‘BestEver’ pear were the two final releases of the pear breeding program conducted by 'Oregon State University', in southern Oregon.
Howard J. Hilton Jr.'s favorite pear was the 'Yungen’ cultivar (Paragon).
