When Is a Red Pear Ripe?

Tree-Ripened Pears

• Pears are the only fruit that continues to get sweeter after you pick it. If allowed to ripen on the tree, the center of the fruit turns mushy and the fruit will rot. In addition, the flesh develops grit cells, sometimes called stone sells, that give it an unpleasant texture.

When to Pick Red Pears

• Harvest red pears when when they reach full size and the color turns from green to pale or yellowish green. The fruit should come away from the spur easily. Give them a slight twist while tilting the fruit upward to about a 45-degree angle. If the spur breaks, it needs more time on the tree.

Chilling Red Pears

• Commercial growers chill pears to 30 degrees Fahrenheit after harvesting to ripen them. Although this temperature is below freezing, the pears don't freeze because of their high sugar content. Thirty degrees is inconvenient for most home growers, but you can chill home-grown pears in the refrigerator in brown paper bags. Red varieties need about two weeks of chilling.

Ripening Red Pears

• Red Anjou need seven to 10 days to ripen after chilling, and Red Bartletts take four to five days. Place them in a plastic bag and set them out of direct sunlight at temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees. The plastic bag traps the ethylene gas the pears produce, which hastens the ripening process. A ripe banana gives off a lot of ethylene gas, and placing one in the bag with your pears can help kick-start the process. The pears are ripe if they yield evenly when you press the flesh just below the stem with your thumb. Use gentle pressure. If you have to press hard, they need a little more time.