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pears

How to use very green pears

Pearl Sutton

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Location: SW Missouri

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posted 6 months ago

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I was surprised to see pears on a tree that has never fruited! I picked about 30 of them. Some of them are very green, small and hard, there is damage from bugs on some and I don't want them to rot. Some I'll let ripen, but some I can't.

What can I do with seriously unripe green pears? Recipes and advice will be appreciated!

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Jill Dyer

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posted 6 months ago

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Maybe treat the pears as quinces . . . they are also like rocks, coarse grate them and make a chutney - I have a recipe if that's of any interest.
Fast ripen by putting them in some sort of container with a banana, or just stew 'em and use for a crumble or pie (good with added sultanas and orange juice)

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Pearl Sutton

steward & bricolagier

Posts: 15944

Location: SW Missouri

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posted 6 months ago

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Thank you, that's a good idea. I have worked with quinces before.
I'll check them later today and see if they are going bad fast, I have stuff I have to get done before I have cooking time.

Les Frijo

Posts: 254

posted 6 months ago

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Maybe it's common knowledge but pears are best picked unripe and ripened off the tree. Pears ripen from the inside out so if left on the tree they will usually be brown in the middle when "ripe".

They can be refrigerated green and taken out to ripen as you like as well. They are best ripened between 65-75º F.

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Cristobal Cristo

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Location: Sierra Nevada foothills, 350 m, USDA 8b, sunset zone 7

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posted 6 months ago

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In my family the unripe pears are used to candy them with few cloves till they become translucent and the syrup thick and honey color. It takes at least 4 hours of very slow cooking. They can be stored in jars and then used as addition to for example vanilla pudding. Or added to plum povidla to make this preserve even more special.

Andy McKay

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posted 6 months ago

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I second the candy notion. We poach bruised or underripe pears in a lemon/vanilla/sugar syrup for “poached pears belle helen.” And then we take the pear syrup to make pear soda, combine with club soda. My kids love it!

Anthony Powell

Posts: 177

Location: NW England

posted 6 months ago

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Around here in Cheshire, UK we have many small-fruited pears, called Hazel pears, or Hessle pears. They're very quick to ripen. It's known they were sent by rail for dying uniforms during the World Wars.
I don't know whether that's an option for unripe pears.

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