"It seems that pears don't in fact ripen on the tree!"
How interesting hypercharleyfarley!!
I never knew that. I've been trying to squeeze the pears on my tree for weeks and weeks now, waiting for them to soften up so I can pick and scoff them, so this explains why they're all still hard as rocks !!!
I'll see if I can gently twist some off, as have had my eye on about half a dozen nice blushed ones, not sure of the variety, I thought Williams, but not sure. Then I will put to the side with a banana for company and then scoff.
Trying to cut down a bit on sugar intake, I discovered the other day that gently stewing an underripe conference pear with a Bramley apple and a few cloves gives a beautifully delicate and refreshing dessert needing no sugar!
Just cut the fruit thinly, add a bit of boiling water - enough to make some juice - bring back to the boil and turn off heat and leave the lid on. The residual heat of the electric hob does the rest.
Also nice to add a spoonful or two of the fruit mix to porridge to jazz it up a bit.
As has been said, they are ready to pick when they come away when you lift them with a slight twist. If you have to pull, then it's too soon. In any case they will be rock hard, which is the way my wife likes to eat them but I don't. I put them in a bowl on a windowledge for a week or two to soften slightly.
this is all really interesting as I've just harvested about 30 pears from my tree - its first year of fruiting properly - and some I've left on as they didn't want to part from the tree so I'll try them again next week.
Now I need to clear some room in the fridge!!!! Thanks all of you
I have some lovely pears - first crop ever and was wondering when to pick them as they just seem hard. Will twist a couple and then see.
By the way last year i was given some and made the most delicious pear and vanilla jam. (recipe I found on interent) Will have another go this year but will make sure I use preserving sugar, which I don't usually bother with
Following the instructions on here I have just picked my first crop of Concorde pears. I didn't even have to twist just lightly lifted the fruit and they came away.
Now I will leave them in a bowl for a few days near the bananas and see what happens . I will let you know
My little conference tree has done so well this year I'm thrilled. As this photo taken today shows they're all still on the tree except for two that came off in high winds recently.
When I tested the 'lift and twist' method the other day I did find two more came away but rather reluctantly so I've left the others for a bit longer. I suspect that it won't be much longer, however, as forecast suggest temperatures are due to stay higher than normal for the rest of September.
I'm now wondering if it's best to take them off now for a slower ripening in a cool place in newspaper...
The birds have started to nibble the tops of some the conference pears. I'm taking that as a sign : if they are noticeably riper to the birds then it's time to pick.
So I did!
Even though they're still hard when pressed at the tops. I shall wrap them in newspaper and store them; somewhere 'cool and dark' rings a bell from deep back in childhood. It will be interesting to see if I can use them as I need them through the next few months without wastage.
You will see from my last post that I picked my conference pears back on the 23 September.
i duly wrapped them individually in newspaper and left them in the dark in an empty drawer.
Their condition was perfect when they came off the tree: 30 - 40 good sized, firm, unripe but unblemished pears - a great harvest for the second year of fruiting. (the tree was planted in about 2010)
Unfortunately they ripened off the tree much quicker than anticipated. I guess the drawer was not in a cool enough place to slow the process down so I lost several within the first week. Some had actually turned to mush within a week...
It seems that pears ripen from the inside out - which is therefore how they rot too! That is why they still feel hard outside when they are in fact ready to eat: with those I caught just before they started to rot - as the inside is only just turning pink - the flavour was astounding, far better than any shop-bought I've tasted.
What I think I should have done - not having a proper 'cold room' for storage - is to have taken them off the tree about 3-6 at a time and enjoyed them as they ripened, replacing with new ones off the tree as those already picked got used up.
As an experiment, I left one pear only on the tree to see how long it remained without rotting. It was still there, still unripe, when I went on holiday on 14 Sept. So I guess, whilst they don't seem to ripen on the tree, remaining in their growing environment on the tree actually keeps them from rotting.
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"It seems that pears don't in fact ripen on the tree!"
How interesting hypercharleyfarley!!
I never knew that
. I've been trying to squeeze the pears on my tree for weeks and weeks now, waiting for them to soften up so I can pick and scoff them, so this explains why they're all still hard as rocks !!!
I'll see if I can gently twist some off, as have had my eye on about half a dozen nice blushed ones, not sure of the variety, I thought Williams, but not sure. Then I will put to the side with a banana for company and then scoff.
Bramley and conference
Trying to cut down a bit on sugar intake, I discovered the other day that gently stewing an underripe conference pear with a Bramley apple and a few cloves gives a beautifully delicate and refreshing dessert needing no sugar!
Just cut the fruit thinly, add a bit of boiling water - enough to make some juice - bring back to the boil and turn off heat and leave the lid on. The residual heat of the electric hob does the rest.
Also nice to add a spoonful or two of the fruit mix to porridge to jazz it up a bit.
As has been said, they are ready to pick when they come away when you lift them with a slight twist. If you have to pull, then it's too soon. In any case they will be rock hard, which is the way my wife likes to eat them but I don't. I put them in a bowl on a windowledge for a week or two to soften slightly.
If you pick conference pears while still firm and then put in the salad drawer in your fridge they will ripen slowly but still stay firm.
this is all really interesting as I've just harvested about 30 pears from my tree - its first year of fruiting properly - and some I've left on as they didn't want to part from the tree so I'll try them again next week.
Now I need to clear some room in the fridge!!!! Thanks all of you
I have some lovely pears - first crop ever and was wondering when to pick them as they just seem hard. Will twist a couple and then see.
By the way last year i was given some and made the most delicious pear and vanilla jam. (recipe I found on interent) Will have another go this year but will make sure I use preserving sugar, which I don't usually bother with
Following the instructions on here I have just picked my first crop of Concorde pears. I didn't even have to twist just lightly lifted the fruit and they came away.
Now I will leave them in a bowl for a few days near the bananas and see what happens . I will let you know
My little conference tree has done so well this year I'm thrilled. As this photo taken today shows they're all still on the tree except for two that came off in high winds recently.
When I tested the 'lift and twist' method the other day I did find two more came away but rather reluctantly so I've left the others for a bit longer. I suspect that it won't be much longer, however, as forecast suggest temperatures are due to stay higher than normal for the rest of September.
I'm now wondering if it's best to take them off now for a slower ripening in a cool place in newspaper...
No hum! Such big problems to resolve...
...
...
The birds have started to nibble the tops of some the conference pears. I'm taking that as a sign : if they are noticeably riper to the birds then it's time to pick.
So I did!
Even though they're still hard when pressed at the tops. I shall wrap them in newspaper and store them; somewhere 'cool and dark' rings a bell from deep back in childhood. It will be interesting
to see if I can use them as I need them through the next few months without wastage.
You will see from my last post that I picked my conference pears back on the 23 September.
i duly wrapped them individually in newspaper and left them in the dark in an empty drawer.
Their condition was perfect when they came off the tree: 30 - 40 good sized, firm, unripe but unblemished pears - a great harvest for the second year of fruiting. (the tree was planted in about 2010)
Unfortunately they ripened off the tree much quicker than anticipated. I guess the drawer was not in a cool enough place to slow the process down so I lost several within the first week. Some had actually turned to mush within a week...
It seems that pears ripen from the inside out - which is therefore how they rot too! That is why they still feel hard outside when they are in fact ready to eat: with those I caught just before they started to rot - as the inside is only just turning pink - the flavour was astounding, far better than any shop-bought I've tasted.
What I think I should have done - not having a proper 'cold room' for storage - is to have taken them off the tree about 3-6 at a time and enjoyed them as they ripened, replacing with new ones off the tree as those already picked got used up.
As an experiment, I left one pear only on the tree to see how long it remained without rotting. It was still there, still unripe, when I went on holiday on 14 Sept. So I guess, whilst they don't seem to ripen on the tree, remaining in their growing environment on the tree actually keeps them from rotting.