Harrow delight was exciting for the squirrels, they have eaten little in my orchard this year but they cleared out that tree several weeks ago. Hopefully I’ll have a bigger crop and get a taste next year.
An update on the sole Harrow Sweet pear developing on my tree (wrapped in stalkings): Look how fat it’s getting!
How am I supposed to wait two more weeks to pick this thing? Arg!
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Finally picked this lone pear-- a Harrow Sweet!
Into the refrigerator it goes. Then it will be allowed to counter-ripen.
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Is the strawberry blond cutie going to share it with you, or will he claim it all for himself? He sure seems to be enjoying the prospect while he munches through that apple.
Oh, also, that’s a very nice looking pear!
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Matt,
When I picked my HS, it turned paler green into mellow yellow.
In 2013, I picked my on Oct 7 and in 2014, I picked mine on Oct 14. I am in zome 6 a.
I ihink I picked mine a little late but they tasted very good after refrigeration.
Hope to picked mine by the end of Sept, early Oct this year.
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The first time I realized how good Harrow Sweet was was when I picked it ripe off the tree in Oct here.
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Glad to here, Alan. I am not sure if I picked too late but they were good.
Matt, what is the reason for the refrigerator first? Is there a reason for that? I picked my pears when a few started to drop, and the smaller ones were turning from green to a pale yellow. I did see in just 2-3, some light brown in the interior (as Olpea mentioned in another thread), but all were beautiful, including the two that had browning in the interior.
I’ve wondered about when and how I should harvest them, and the way they should be handled afterwards. They are very good, but I must admit, I’ve had better ones purchased from the market. They were very juicy and nice flesh texture, but do lack a little sweetness and maybe a little flavor too. It was the first year fruiting and no doubt, I let way too many grow out, but I removed about 60.
It’s only a third year tree and it was planted very late in early July the first year (bargain priced from Boyer’s). I’m hoping it will (and I think it will) produce better quality as it grows.
Is there anything I need to know about ripening them properly?
My wife has been canning them, and in the jar, they look incredibly delicious.
I’ve yet to sample any dead ripe, the way I really like a Bartlett.
BTW, I’ve not sampled the Potomac yet, they should be ripe by date, but still look quite green to me. The deer etc have got all but 4. It is it’s first year fruiting too. Both planted the same time…Bartlett set way, way heavier, but was a slightly larger tree to begin with.
My understanding is pears that are tree or counter-ripened alone will often rot from the inside out.
Hey, Google just pulled up a fantastic sheet on pear ripening! I have never found any really good write-ups until this one:
They go through everything including why pears need refrigeration, and the best thing is they give some recommendations for different varieties. I think this is climate-dependent, but its a start. I have Beurre Superfin coming in this year and can say they do horribly straight off the tree. Once I noticed this I picked all the ones left on the tree, they are in the fridge now. Next year they will be picked even earlier. What the above link states is pears on the tree or counter ripen inside-out, and in storage they ripen evenly.
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Apple,
Some people feel like a little refrigeration after picking helps them ripen better after pulling them out of the fridge. I’ve done it that way, as well as let them counter ripen without any refrigeration. I haven’t noticed a difference either way, but some pears may respond better to the refrigeration treatment.
The biggest factors for good tasting pears I’ve noticed are: cultivar and picking at the right time - not over-cropping is also important. Some cultivars never make good fresh eating pears IMO, but I’ve also picked pears too early and they never sweeten up.
My method is to wait for the first pear to start to turn yellow, then pick them all, except for the really small ones. Those tend to increase in size some and can hang on the tree longer. Of course this is all very difficult to do when a pear tree is just starting to crop. In that case there are very few pears to gauge the proper picking time.
Scott,
We posted our last replies at about the same time (I didn’t see your reply until after I posted mine.)
I read the article you linked and perhaps there is some research which suggests a brief period of refrigeration is best, but again I’ve not noticed a difference myself. I’ve not had any counter ripen pears rot inside (but have had them rot in the inside on the tree).
I’ve sold some pears for several years and instructed my customers to simply counter ripen the pears and only once (that I know of) had someone who was dissatisfied several years ago ( I replaced his pears with peaches). Incidentally, I asked several other customers who got pears out of the same batch and they all said their pears were delicious.
I’ve sold a couple batches of pears this summer and instructed the customers to simply leave them on the counter (not in a paper bag) and let them counter ripen (takes about 5 days). So far every customer who has brought it up has loved the pears and asked for more.
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Olpea, I have found ripening to be extremely variety-dependent. This year my Bartlett did pretty well with only counter ripening, the Fondante des Moulins-Lille generally are also OK with counter only (but are better if refrigerated) and the Superfin require refrigeration or all ruined. My impression is any pear can do better with a bit of refrigeration, so you should at least give it a try.
Theres a classic old-timer quote: “If you live long enough to learn how to properly ripen 10 pear varieties, you’ll be lucky”.
I agree with Scott entirely. Some varieties are fussy and some are not but if you want exquisite eating pears into winter timing is tricky. There is a different quality to pears that spend some time in refrigeration and are later ripened- at least it seems that way to me. Last year I hit the spot in late Sept for Sheldon, Duchess and Harrow Sweet and those three were incredible eating after a few weeks in the fridge. Seckel seems better to me if it is almost completely ripe when picked. It gets best sweetness that way.
I have found it very difficult to time picking for these types of pears (the ones needing refrigeration), although Harrow Sweet will be good enough if you leave it on the tree until it’s almost ready to eat. I may begin using the refractometer to help sort it out. I would like it for Fluffy to chime in here. He is a true pear connoisseur with considerable experience.
The link Scott provided lists 9-1 as a pick date for Bosc and Comice. Not sure of their location but they are probably later than me on harvest dates. So went out and picked my beautiful Bosc. That was easy because they look ripe with all that russeting. The Comice on the other hand are very green looking. Guess I’ll pick them this evening.
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Jeff,
I am no expert, but most pears seem to improve in TEXTURE and flavor after some time in the frig. That has been my experience with Bartlett and Magness. I leave them in the frig and check them periodically. When the tops yield to thumb pressure, then they’re ready to eat. If I’m in a hurry, some pears seem to ripen quicker if I take them in and out of the frig at 24 hr intervals. If I want to prolong a batch, I just leave them in the frig and eat one or two a day.
This is just my anecdotal experience. The responses others have provided here make more sense than my ramblings.
Well, this is all very helpful. The reason I asked is because with store bought pears ( I buy a lot, which is why I planted them) I’ve noticed that when I sometimes refrigerated them that they seemed to improve. I had kinda written that off to just coincidence until I saw your comment.
We have also bought pears and tried one and it was just kinda so-so and a bit unripe and after a while on the counter turned into something magnificent.
To me, little is better than a sweet,aromatic and juicy pear. For a long time I didn’t really care much for pears because I had never really had a good one.
Has anyone on here ever tried making pear sauce? I’ve never had it, but watched a couple make it on YT and it really looked good.
I agree that this is highly variety specific. I grow pears that most of you guys don’t grow and vice versa,
and I find that just about all of my pears ripen better in the refrigerator than on the counter. They do not
rot in the fridge as they would on the counter, but develop a richer and sweeter flavor the longer they stay
in the fridge. I pick mine, while they are still fairly green. There is no finer pear than a refrigerator ripened Maxine. IMHO, it’s better than the supposedly king of pears, comice,
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Scott…that was a great link. So for Bartlett they are picking and then giving 14 days @ 40F, then 5-8 “counter” ripening as I see it.
Most of the time I pick pears they have been pretty green but they always ripen up off the tree fridge or not. It is my understanding that not all pears need refrigerator time. I thought the quote unquote summer pears like Bartlett didn’t need it. I don’t always notice a difference but on some varieties I do. Moonglow was always better after fridge time. I always felt that I had some leaway on pears and mostly had good results with picking. Some better than others of course.
Fruitnut are comice and bosc in your greenhouse? Are they in pots? Any trouble with fireblight?
Forgot to say appleseed I have made pear sauce. It was good but the best pear preserve I ever made was pear almond butter and it was great!
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