Handling: To help ripen your pears, place them in a bowl with ripening bananas at room temperature (68-77 degrees F.)

Once they are ripened, pears will generally keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Unripe fruit can generally be kept for a week or more, however, pears will not ripen properly inside the fridge.

Entertaining: If you are having a get-together with friends or family, serving pears to your guests is a fabulous idea!  Cheeses, nuts and dried fruits are classic accompaniments to fresh pears.

If you cut the pears ahead of time to serve on a plate, the natural oxidation process will occur.  This will cause the flesh of your pear to turn brown in color.  The discoloration won't affect the lush taste, but to prevent this color change from happening you can mix a mild solution of 50% water & 50% lemon juice & dip the pear slices in the solution.  

Decorating

Old-Fashioned Sugared Pears

If you would like to display something homemade but are short on time (or talent!), here's an easy craft for dressing up your dining table this holiday season   Directions for making Sugared Pears

Amazing Fruit Fact
 Did you know that there are 3,000+ pear varieties around the world?!  However, only a few of them have been refined into the family of North-Western USA Pears.  Each pear has its own individual taste, color & texture.  If you like sweet & succulent pears, the Comice is for you!  If you prefer a really juicy pear, we would suggest you try a Bartlett pear.  There are so many types of pears, you might find yourself favoring all of them!