Seasonal Fruit Friday: The Pear

September 7, 2012

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Picking and Storing:

When picking your pears, avoid ones with bruises or other skin blemishes. The Bartlett pears are the only ones that will yellow when they ripen, and the other pear varieties stay the same color after ripening. Buy them hard and then let them ripen on the counter for a few days. Don’t put them in bag to ripen because they are sensitive to carbon dioxide. See list below from The City Cook for common pear varieties and how to use them:

• Comice — Many consider this the best eating pear with a smooth and sweet flesh.
• Bartlett — The most common pear, this is a sweet and juicy fruit with a green skin that ripes to yellow, sometimes with a blush of red.  Best for eating (this is the pear that’s used for canned pears).
• Anjou — Sweet and juicy, these don’t change color when they ripen and are good for both cooking and eating.
• Seckel — The smallest of the most common pears, their sweet, spicy flesh can be grainy.  Good for cooking
• Bosc — A winter pear with a yellow-brown matte skin and creamy white flesh that’s ideal for cooking and baking.

Healthy Recipes:

• Chai Carrot Pear Muffins (Gluten-Free and Vegan)
• Pear Crisp
• Maple Vanilla Roasted Pear Parfaits
• Pomegranate Pear Salad with Maple Nut Dressing

Fun Pear Facts:

• Pears are a good source of fiber and vitamin C
• They are part of the rose family
• Pears ripen better off the tree and from the inside out
• More than 95% of pears grown in the US are from Washington, Oregon, and California

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Tags: in season, late summer, Pear, recipes, seasonal fruit