Ripening Your Farmfresh Pears

Do you know the best way to ripen pears?

The pears are coming in fast and furious at Roy Ridge Ranch! They don’t ripen evenly on the tree, so they need to be picked when the neck is firm, but not hard and then chilled. If you’ve got a tree or buy some at a farmer’s market, place them in your refrigerator (Bartlett for a few days and Bosc, Comice and D’Anjou for a few weeks). If you’re buying them at a grocery store, they’ve usually handled this for you. When you’re ready to eat them, pull them out a few at a time and set them on the counter for a couple of days. If you’re in a rush, put them on the counter in a paper bag with a banana. They turn that perfect mix of firm and juicy. Someone needs to invent a word for what that is…firuicy doesn’t quite work.