Ripening Pears??

[wifezilla]

Pears are ready to come off the tree for ripening. If I understand correctly, they need to be chilled, then left to ripen at room temperature, correct?

So the question is, how long do I chill them? I am not sure what kind of pear I have!

 

[bid]

Refrigerating slows the ripening process. So, you can store them until you are ready to do something with them. I generally stick them in the fridge for a day or 2 or 5 , depending on how busy or lazy I am and then seperate out the ripe from the green, depending on what I going to attempt to turn them into. Slightly under-ripe is better for relish, preserves, jam...while halves I look for "perfectly" ripe. Over-ripe.....make some fried pies.

 

[wifezilla]

There is a big difference between store bought pears and off the tree pears.

"Pears picked when slightly immature will ripen with better quality than pears that are over mature when picked. To tell if a pear is mature, a general rule of thumb is that, while still on the tree, most mature, ready to ripen pears will usually detach when "tilted" to a horizontal position from their usual vertical hanging position. Bosc pears always are difficult to separate from the spur.

"Unlike apples, which are ready to eat from the day they are picked, pears must go through a series of changes before they can deliver their full splendor," explained Sugar. "Pears do not ripen on the tree to our liking. If allowed to tree-ripen, pears typically ripen from the inside out, so that the center is mushy by the time the outside flesh is ready."

"Commercial pears are harvested when they are 'mature,' he continued. "In pear language, that means they are picked when they have reached the point where they will ripen to good quality, sometimes with a little help, but definitely OFF the tree.

"So the frequently heard notion that pears are picked when they are still hard and green as a convenience for enduring the long truck ride to market misses the point," Sugar quipped.

Once commercial pears are picked, growers cool them down to about 30 degrees F. They don't freeze at this temperature, because the fruit sugar acts like an antifreeze.

"The colder the pears are, the longer they'll stay in good condition," said Sugar. "In fact, they actually need to be cooled in order to ripen properly."

Bartlett pears need to be cooled only for a day or two, and winter pears such as Anjou, Bosc and Comice require 2 to 6 weeks for optimal effect, he said."
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=1003&storyType=garden
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/pears.html

Any idea what variety of pear I have??

 

[bid]

I have no idea 'zilla sorry. The shapes of the pears and the coloring is so varied. I first thought bosc at the coloring of some of the pears. I think some do look like a bosc both color and shape, but then others look so dis-similar.

 

[ShowMe31]

No idea on the type, sorry. I was able to get some pears from the neighbors tree, type unknown. I just treated them like my bartlett and so far they are looking good. They've only been outta the fridge for a couple of days but when I checked today they seem like they are about ready to start canning. In fact, I'm hoping that will be tomorrows or Fridays project.

 

[wifezilla]

I know! The color and shape is so varied it is driving me crazy!

Colorado has weird Spring weather so we are often lucky to have any fruit. The brown could be frost damage of some kind. Usually the squirrels grab all the fruit before we can harvest anything. This year a family of Peregrine Falcons has taken up residence in the neighbor's tree near our pear tree. For some reason the squirrels aren't in our tree nearly as often as they used to be

(Good Falcons! GO play with the nice tasty squirrel! )

 

[vfem]

I would have said bartlett because of the brown, but if they are hard naturally, and I can't tell from the dots on the skin... they could also be an asian pear. We have asian pear and anjou here.

 

[journey11]

I will bet they are Anjou, although Bartlett could also be a possibility. Definitely not Bosc, which are pointy at the stem end, and definitely not Comice which are fat and squat.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi there Wifezilla,
Try this UK site as it has photos of the most populat varieties; just click on each variety & the photo pops up.

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/pear_tree_1.asp

Hope it helps.

Hattie

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

Our pears are ready to be picked also. The only thing I've ever done is make pear relish, which is similar to a Chow Chow. We eat it on beans and peas as a sweet/hot condiment. I will hot pack some fresh this year. What else is possible? I do not like pear preserves. I would probably like pear jelly if I could get the consistency of jelly or jam. Suggestions and recipes welcome. We have probable more pears than we can possibly use. Of course we will be giving some away to friends and other family.