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How
can I tell if a pear is ripe and ready to eat?
"
Dear
Anne and Sue,
I’ve just bitten into a pear that looks perfect
on the outside, but the inside is too ripe and mushy.
Now I’m a little ticked because I’ve wasted
a good pear. This has happened before. How can I tell
when a pear is ready to eat?
Thanks,
Don
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Dear Don,
Pears ripen from the inside out, so you can’t judge
their ripeness by looking at the skin. To test if a pear
is ripe, apply gentle pressure near the stem end. If it
gives slightly, it’s most likely ready to be eaten.
Pears are one of the few fruits that don’t ripen
successfully on the tree. They’re picked when they
have reached full size, but before the onset of ripening.
If they’re left on the tree to ripen, they become
quite mealy and unpleasant in texture.
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The pear’s unusual ripening process also has its
advantages, however. It offers you the opportunity to
ripen pears as needed. A couple of days before you plan
to eat them, put the pears in a brown paper bag. The bag
will capture the ethylene, a gas that most ripening fruits
give off. Ethylene also affects changes in color and flavor,
converts starch to sugar, and causes the fruit to soften.
After a couple of days in the bag, the pears should be
just right. Once pears are ripe, they have a relatively
short shelf life, so eat them right away or refrigerate
them and eat them within a day or two.
Many pears are wonderful eaten fresh, but if you don’t
want to wait for them to ripen completely, try baking
them in desserts, such as a free-form galette or a gratin
topped with a mixture of breadcrumbs, ginger, marmalade,
and sugar.
Pears are becoming increasingly popular fall and winter
fruits, and there are now many different varieties found
in good markets. Enjoy uncovering their potential!
Cheers,
Anne & Sue
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