I have several pear trees. I’m never sure when to pick the fruit–should it be picked when ripe, or can it be picked sooner and allowed to ripen off the tree? Any advice on storage after harvesting would also be helpful.
If you have European pears, and not Asian pears, they are best picked before they are fully ripe. University of California, Davis Integrated Pest Management has basic information on harvesting pears. Excerpt:
“European pear varieties ripen best off the tree. Fruit that is left on the tree doesn’t develop full flavor. Pick the fruit when it is green and hard but of mature size for the variety. The stem should break off the spur easily when the fruit is twisted upward. If the spur breaks off the tree, the fruit is not ready to pick. Allow the fruit to ripen in a cool place in a fruit ripening bowl or paper bag. You may store fall-ready varieties for several weeks in cold storage (below 40 degrees F) and bring them out for ripening at room temperature.
Asian varieties should be allowed to ripen on the tree. The fruit will generally turn from green to yellow and the flesh should be sweet and juicy. Asian pears will hold on the tree for quite a while after they have ripened. It is better however, to keep them in cold storage until ready to eat. Asian pears can be stored for several months, depending on variety.”
Oregon State University Extension has an article by Robert Stebbins and others (Picking and Storing Apples and Pears) listing different varieties of pear (and apple) and the best times to harvest and their average life in storage at different temperatures.
Here is more on picking and storing pears from a no longer available article by Carol Savonen with information from Oregon State University Extension agent David Sugar.
Excerpt:
“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.
“‘Without this chilling process, a mature picked pear will just sit and sit and eventually decompose without ever ripening,’ explained Sugar.’Pear ripening must be closely watched (…) There is a relatively narrow window between “too hard” and “too soft” where the perfect pear texture lies.’ Sugar recommends ripening pears at 65 to 75 degrees F for the following times: Bartlett, 4 to 5 days, Bosc and Comice, 5 to 7 days; and Anjou, 7 to 10 days. The longer the time the pears have spent in cold storage, the shorter the time to ripen them. ‘As ripening begins, pears produce ethylene gas, a ripening hormone, inside the fruit. This speeds the ripening along. The ripening time gets shorter as the time since harvest passes.’
“Pear lovers can ‘kick start’ the pear ripening process by putting freshly bought or newly harvested pears in a paper bag with a ripe banana or an apple, both of which give off copious quantities of ethylene gas. The bag keeps the gas near the pears, which soak it up and quickly begin producing their own.
“How do you tell when a pear is ripened to perfection? ‘Hold the pear gently but firmly in the palm of your hand, as a baseball pitcher might hold the ball while studying signs from the catcher,’ recommended Sugar. ‘Apply the thumb of that same hand to the pear flesh just below the point where the stem joins the fruit. When the flesh beneath your thumb yields evenly to gentle pressure, it is time to eat your pear. If you have to push more than slightly, it is not ready yet.'”