FUN FACTS ABOUT PEARS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PEARS

Today pears are available in grocery stores 10 months of the year, but they weren’t always so easy to find. In the 1800s people were willing to pay over $20 for just one pear because they were so rare and delicious!

TYPES OF PEARS

There are two types of pears you can eat winter pears and Asian pears. Winter pears get soft, sweet and juicy when ripe while Asian pears are crunchy and juicy like apples when they’re ripe. Winter pears are picked off trees before they are ripe. That’s because unlike most other fruits, winter pears ripen best after they are harvested.

TYPES OF WINTER PEARS

Thousands of varieties of pears are grown around the world. In the United States there are many varieties of winter pears you can try. Yellow Bartlett, Green Anjou and Bosc are available in most supermarkets. Sometimes some really unusual pears like Red

Bosc and Seckel pears are available. Try them if you find them! Red Bosc pears are so cool with their bright red color. Seckel pears are really neat, too. They are so tiny, about one-fourth of the size of regular pears. Comice is another great variety to try. They are the sweetest type of winter pear.

HOW DO WINTER PEARS GROW?

Just like apples, pears grow on trees, but the trees tend to be more upright than apple trees. Pears grow best when the days are warm and the nights are cool. They also require rich volcanic soil and plenty of water. It takes about 100 to 170 days for winter

pear to develop from a flower.

WHERE DO PEARS GROW?

Native to the northern regions of central Asia, pears have been cultivated for more than 3,000 years. Pears have been growing in the U.S since the 1600s when early colonists began growing pear trees by planting cuttings from European pear trees. Today the largest producers of pears are China, Italy, Russia and the U.S. The West Coast dominates pear production in the U.S; 98 percent of all pears grown in the U.S. are grown in California, Oregon and Washington.

GREAT WAYS TO EAT PEARS

Winter pears taste best when ripe. The best way to see if a winter pear is ripe is to press it gently near the stem. If it feels a little soft, the pear is sweet, juicy and ready to eat. Asian Pears do not ripen after harvest, so they are picked when they are ripe. This

means that as soon as you buy an Asian Pear, you can eat it, but when you buy winter pears they might need a few more days to ripen. They ripen best on the countertop, and if placed near apples, they’ll ripen more quickly. Both types of pears make great snacks but are also great mixed with other foods. Try adding sliced pears to pancakes. Add slices of Asian pear to a ham sandwich for crunch