Summer might be on the way out, but one upside of the start of the autumn season is it is the best time of year for picking fresh fruit like apples and pears.
Pear trees will be yielding piles of fruit in September and October, and if you’re not the type to grow your own, then rest assured supermarkets will be well stocked with British-grown pears in season at this time of year. The only problem is, whether you pick them or buy them in, they always seem to be absolutely rock hard.
It’s not like apples, which are ready to eat straight away, or bananas, that need a couple of days to ripen. Stubborn pears can seem to stay solid for weeks on end, refusing to turn edible.
If you’re having trouble with tooth-breaking pears that won’t ripen and turn soft, there is a solution according to food storage experts.
Martha Stewart, a well known name in domestic advice, says that the best way to ripen pears is to store them at room temperature in a fruit bowl, and to keep them with one other fruit – bananas.
This is because bananas produce ethylene gas, which has the side-effect of accelerating the ripening process for your pears.
To get pears to ripen even faster, you can put them inside a paper bag with a banana, or an apple will also work.
Martha explains via her website: “The best way to ripen your pears is to store them at room temperature, such as in a fruit bowl on your kitchen counter.
“If you keep them near other fruits that give off ethylene, such as bananas, this will accelerate the ripening process.
“Another technique to ripen a pear more quickly is to store it in a paper bag with an apple or a banana. This method exposes the pear to more ethylene, and so speeds the ripening. (Don’t forget you stashed the pear with a banana, or you may find it has become too ripe to use).
“Once ripe, pears should be kept in the fridge (unripe pears should be stored at room temperature). Refrigerating them will extend the meltingly sweet life of a pear by a couple of days.”