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Conference pears
Grajean
Posts: 447
in Fruit & veg
I have just picked the conference pears from an inherited tree, how can I store them and also get them to ripen? I have tried putting pears with ripe banana also tried putting in paper bags, still rock hard and seems a shame to waste them.
0
Posts
Pears ripen off the tree and some take longer than others, so patience is what is needed. You'll just have to keep testing them.
Any that refuse to ripen by the time your patience has run out can be pickled - lots of recipes online - great Christmas gifts for friends and wonderful with game and Christmas leftovers.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Or used for cooking.
This year my tree is absolutely loaded. Have picked bucketfuls already, given away loads and we are enjoying them every which way possible. Most of them have only taken a day or two to ripen up indoors with no heat yet.
It is easy to be misled by surface firmness when testing. Unlike apples they seem to ripen from the inside out. Some of mine which feel fairly firm superficially, when cut open are meltingly soft and sweet inside.
Rather the problem is how to use/preserve before they become overripe. The pickled pears sound good so will check that out. I am awaiting delivery of a dehydrator, just a small one to see what the results are like as my freezer is just about full.