Pick Pears

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Being able to pick pears fresh is a luxury to say the least. Pears are usually ready last summer or early fall for picking. Of course, always be sure to check with your local fruit orchard to make sure. If you let pear ripen on the vine, then they will break down at the core and become soft and mushy on the inside. To determine the readiness of the fruit, be aware of the ease of removal. If there are already pears on the ground that have fallen from the tree, more than likely, you may be too late. However, you should surely pick all of them.

To measure if the fruit it ready to be harvested, you can gently pull on the stem of the fruit. If the fruit snaps off cleanly from the twig, then the pears are ready to be picked. Logically, on larger trees the fruit on the top ripens more quickly than the fruit near the bottom of the tree. Once the fruit is picked, then you can allow it to ripen naturally. However, there are other varieties of pears that don’t allow for natural ripening once removed from the twig. Late ripening varieties such as Anjou, Bosc and Comice. These particular varieties are a little more high maintenance. The need about 3-4 weeks of storage in 32-45 degrees temperature–you can store them in a refrigerator or a cellar if it is cool enough. Furthermore, wrapping these varieties while they are ripening is a good idea, to prevent shriveling. Below is a listing of places where you can pick your own pears.