What do I do with Pears?

[gahorN]

I planted a couple of pear trees about 7 or 8 years ago and one of 'em died the next year. The other hasn't done much and I read that you've got to have at least two trees to pollinate...that pears don't self-pollinate. So I had resigned myself to enjoying white flowers in the spring and that was about it.

Then, this spring, I notice a lot of honey-bees had discovered it. By May I had small fruit on the tree and I was ecstatic! So I've watered that tree all thru our summer Texas drought and now the fall rains have taken over and I've got a couple dozen pears bigger'n softballs and beginning to fall off the tree!

What do I do with 'em? They aren't like the ones in the store you can just pick up and eat. They're too firm for that, but they are slightly sweet and just a tad on the grainy side. But they are HUGE!

 

[Tom N MS]

Sounds like you have a good salad pear. My Mother fixes them with grated cheese, mayo and a cherry on top. I"ll have to ask her how she prepares the pear..I think she just removes the core, leaves them in halves and simmers until tender. I like em..

 

[Dell (WA)]

gahorN.......pears are hard and haffta ripen OFF the tree to be hand eatable and grainy. Takes several weeks. Pear butter (jam) on waffles and pancakes is delicious. You can also make pear pie and pear compotes. Pears are almost interchangeable with apple recipes. ......Dell, dang the slobbers

 

[John (TR)]

Dell
Whats up with letting them ripen on the tree? I just figured they were picked green for shipping reasons. Just curious, we have a Bartlett tree and I usually pick them when they are yellow.

 

[blitz]

pears that are ripened on the tree will ripen from the inside out and get kinda mushy by the time the outside is ready. here's some good info:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=392&storyType=garden

 

[JMOR]

(quoted from post at 01:08:47 11/19/09) gahorN.......pears are hard and haffta ripen OFF the tree to be hand eatable and grainy. Takes several weeks. Pear butter (jam) on waffles and pancakes is delicious. You can also make pear pie and pear compotes. Pears are almost interchangeable with apple recipes. ......Dell, dang the slobbers

ear honey (preserves) can't be beat with a stick!!!
A little lemon peal............mummm mummm good!

 

[teddy52food]

Slice them up & can them like peaches in sugar syrup? We can up boughten pears.

 

[CJ in Michigan]

Make pear cider.

 

[Ultradog MN]

Shucks,
I thought every man knew what to do with a large pair.
wink

 

[wickedsix]

LOL

Sounds like you need to make some fruit salad!

 

[MR in MN]

Pears are either eating pears or canning pears. My canning pears stay firm until they start to rot, and they have a different flavor, not as good as eating pears, but canned they stay firm and taste great, they lose the funny flavor from fresh. Eating pears taste great, but can up mushy, still edible but not as good. Yup, you need to pick them before they are ripe, then they will ripen slowly on the counter, on the tree, once they are falling, many are brown on the inside. Some pears are yelow pears and some are green pears and never turn yellow untill rotten, I gave my neighbor some, asked him weeks later how they were, said they still hadn't ripened. Told him to check them, found them rotten inside. You'll figure it out, I never was a pear fan, wasn't even going to plant any, but now that I have about 12 varieties, they are one of my favorite fresh off the tree, I like them green and crisp, like an apple, they are like that a couple of weeks before they completely ripen.

 

[Old Texan]

We used to take the many many over load of pears to the deer lease and stick them on a thorn tree or lodge them in the branches. The deer loved them. and of course it was not baiting according to the laws. sure made where to hunt a no brainer.

 

[valhallareject]

I think you"re right about pears not being self-pollinating. That"s true for all of them except the Bartlett variety. It will self-pollinate and without very much assistance....but bees are always good little pollinator"s assistants. In this germano-ethnic neck of the woods pears never go to waste.....pear butter, pear preserves, stewed pears, pear schmeer, fresh sliced, and right off the tree. And from my experience, while deer may occassionally bite one on the tree, I have never seen one pick up a pear from the ground and eat it. Roses yes, and ivy yes, and even crepe myrtle yes....but pears...never off the ground. Don"t know if they"ve had a bad experience with fire ants on pears or what.

 

[SRussell]

Feral Hogs love those pears, if not enough on the ground they take the bark off the tree trying to get them, deer eat ours as high as they can reach on their hind legs.
What is good though is Pear Relish, cooked and canned (jars) next summer when the fresh peas come in, black eye, crowder, purple hull etc, put that over them as a light sauce. My Moms was just fantastic. I though everyone ate like that, but not.

 

[Dunk]

(quoted from post at 10:30:53 11/19/09)

(quoted from post at 01:08:47 11/19/09) gahorN.......pears are hard and haffta ripen OFF the tree to be hand eatable and grainy. Takes several weeks. Pear butter (jam) on waffles and pancakes is delicious. You can also make pear pie and pear compotes. Pears are almost interchangeable with apple recipes. ......Dell, dang the slobbers

ear honey (preserves) can't be beat with a stick!!!
A little lemon peal............mummm mummm good!

Man, I used to love my Mom's and Grandma's pear preserves on hot buttered biscuits...

Whoo wee... (Nearly forgot that)

 

[Anonymous-0]

My uncle planted two pear trees in the early 40s.One died, the other never had any pears.I had a pony for my kids in the early 60s.I used to tie the pony out near that pear tree.He dropped all his manure under the pear tree.That year the tree had a big crop of pears.My uncle thought it was a lack of pollination that made the tree barren thru the years.My Uncle Bud said he never gave a thought to fertlizing the tree.You can go to work and can some pears,You can make sauce with them.Make wine with them.