Pears are one of the most delicious fruits of the autumn season, and there are plenty of varieties to suit different taste preferences. To get the full experience of a flavorful, juicy pear, you need to make sure it’s ripe. Here are some easy ways to determine if a pear is ready for you to bite into it.
Check the neck of the pear
This is a tip from the USA Pear Bureau (yes, there is such a thing). Take a look at the pear’s stem and give it a gentle squeeze. If it has a bit of give to it, then it’s ripe and ready to eat. If it feels firm, just give it a bit more time on the kitchen counter. It turns out that pears are one of the few fruits that don’t fully ripen on the tree. It needs a few more days off of the tree to reach its ideal ripeness.
You can tell if a pear is ripe by looking at the color
This tip works for a few varieties of pears, mainly Bartlett and Asian. As they ripen, they gradually change in color. In the case of Bartlett pears, they’ll go from green to yellow. Asian pears will go from green to yellow and then red. Once they reach this color, their sugars have developed and you’ll get the sweet, juicy pears you’ve been craving.
Pay attention to the texture of the pear
Finally, you can make a quick assessment of a pear’s ripeness by simply holding it in your hand. It’s quite easy to tell when a pear is hard and not yet ripe. It shouldn’t feel like a baseball in your hand. If it does, just leave it on the kitchen table or counter for a couple more days. Just don’t store it in the refrigerator until it’s ripe because cold temperatures slow down the maturation process.
Still not sure on how to tell if a pear is ripe
If you still feel like you need to know more about how to tell if a pear is ripe. Check out resources like USApear it’s one of the top websites about everything pears. Just remember that when pears ripen they gradually change colors and its because their sugars are developing. Biting into an unripe pear is not fun or tasty, so don’t pick a pear off a tree and try to eat it since it needs some time to ripen once it’s off the tree. Share this with someone if you think it will help them out, and share with us if you know a better way to tell if a pear is ripe by commenting below.