Wenatchee, Washington
I am kind of terrible when it comes to buying produce, if it isn’t in my weekly organic food delivery box I don’t buy it until I actually need it. This means I often get burned buying avocados or pears because they are never as ripe as I want them to be. When is a pear ripe anyway?
I just arrived in Wenatchee, Washington, a place I had never heard of until a few weeks ago, with the sole purpose of learning about organic farming. The very first morning I have learned something that is ridiculously useful.
I am doing it all wrong.
Pears are one of the few fruits that don’t ripen on a tree. Pears bought in grocery stores often don’t ripen for five days so I need to think ahead if I am buying one there. Throwing them in a bag or putting them next to bananas may help a bit but I can’t buy a pear and use it that night unless I want a really hard pear. If I buy one locally at a farmer’s market there is an easy way to see how ripe it will be.
Check the neck.
Using a thumb to apply pressure to the neck of the pear is the best way to see if it is going to be ripe all the way through.
I am sure every grandparent knows this but like most sensible things we have forgotten to pass that one on.
I had to wait until 30 to eat avocado regularly. And I learned this during my 2 yrs stay in US when I was doing my grocery shopping in a latino market. And I was astonished how they were checking maybe about 10 pieces before choosing one. While for me all the avocado fruits in the box were all the same :))
Hah! That’s a good knowledge to have – I never know how to pick pears!
I usually take bites out of pears and put them back on the shelf until I find a ripe one. I guess I’ll try this approach. How about cantaloupes? Any tips for those? Normally I just buy whichever one doesn’t shatter into a million pieces when I test-drop them. Good idea or no?
I never thought choosing a pear was that hard. I usually check how soft/hard it is.. now choosing a Pineapple is another matter 😛
Haha, I love tips like this! It makes me feel like I know a secret (albeit one a lot of people wouldn’t find all that impressive). A couple of years ago I learned the trick about picking a pineapple-pluck out one of the leaves from the top. If if slips out easily, the pineapple is ripe. If you have to give it a good tug, find a different pineapple. For some reason I find it very satisfying to pluck away until I find just the right one. Now I have to try to find some good pears in England (not an easy task)…
Oh I think I wanted to do that thing too. I’ve never tried picking pears but I did apple picking.
What a nifty trick! I love pears, but never realized that pears can arrive at the grocery store unripened!
Great tip! I’d never heard of it before. I usually avoid pears just because I always seemed to eat them when they weren’t ripe enough yet – and I really dislike hard pears.
What a coincidence! My mom just taught me this tip when I was home for Thanksgiving. She said to press the pear next to the stem with your finger to see if it is soft there. If it is, it’s ready.
I know so simple and yet I had never heard it before!