You Haven't Met a Pear Yet: How to Ripen Pears, From a Pear Farmer's Kitchen

Most people meet a pear exactly once a year. It's hard as a rock in the grocery store. They take it home, forget about it, and a few days later it has turned to mush. So they decide they just don't like pears.

I get it. But I've spent about 20 years cooking with pears grown on my husband's family farm in Hood River, Oregon, and I'm here to tell you that you haven't really met a pear yet. That's why I wrote The Pear Farmer's Kitchen: Recipes and Stories from Annala Orchards.

Why Pears Need a Little Know-How

Pear consumption in the US has been going down, and I believe a lot of that comes from people misunderstanding the fruit. Pears are one of the few fruits that don't ripen well on the tree. Growers pick them mature but firm, and they finish ripening off the tree, from the inside out.

That's why grocery store pears feel rock hard. It's not a bad pear. It's a pear that isn't done yet.

This kind of knowledge used to be passed from one generation to the next. When a generation slowly stops buying a fruit that takes a little skill to enjoy at its best, that knowledge gets lost. I can't single-handedly change how America eats pears, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing. Our livelihood depends on it.

How to Tell If a Pear Is Ripe: Check the Neck

My number one tip: check the neck. Press gently near the stem. When it gives a little, the pear is ready. Don't wait for the whole pear to go soft, because by then the middle has gone too far.

Some pears also need cold before they'll ripen at all. Anjous ideally need time in cold storage before they'll ripen on your counter. Pears are patient, so you need a little patience too.

Five Pear Varieties From Our Orchard

The book covers only the varieties we grow on our farm:

• Bartlett: The classic summer pear, and the one in our Herb's Harvest cans. It turns from green to yellow as it ripens, which makes it the easiest to read. Give it 3 to 5 days on the counter.

• Anjou: The winter keeper. It barely changes color when it ripens, so this is the one where you really have to check the neck.

• Red Anjou: I like it better than green Anjou, and it's my favorite to photograph. Try it in a fresh pear salad.

• Bosc: The brown pear with the long neck. It's dense and holds its shape, so it's my pick for pear pizza. Leave the skin on.

• Gem: My favorite. Gem was crossed in 1970, selected in 1981, and not released until 2015. You can eat it right off the tree, and it keeps getting better as it ripens, almost like two pears in one. I've shared Gems with plenty of anti-pear friends, and every time they say, "Okay, maybe I shouldn't rule out pears."

  
  

Four Generations, One Orchard

In 1909, Finnish immigrant Zachary Annala bought 18 acres in the Hood River Valley. He and his wife Hilma raised nine kids there. Today my husband Herbie farms that same ground as the fourth generation, after Gene and then Herbie's dad, Tim, who farmed for 50 years.

Our kids are growing up in that orchard. We eat fruit right off the trees in season, walk out to see the bloom every spring, and they ride along for irrigation and harvest. Herbie and I even made over 250 jars of pear butter as favors for our wedding, one canner at a time on an apartment-size stove.

Farming is beautiful, and farming is hard. Last year we grew one of the largest crops we've ever had, and the prices didn't come close to matching it. That's why our family focuses on doing more with what we grow, through Herb's Harvest canned pears and now this book.

Inside The Pear Farmer's Kitchen

The book has five collections: Fresh, Preserved, Savory, Sweet and Cocktails. A few of my favorites are the fresh pear salad, the pear pumpkin bisque with a rustic artisan loaf, the sweet pear galette, and a pear mule I drink year round. Many recipes work with canned or fresh pears, so you can bake with pears all year, not just in the fall. I wrote every recipe and story, and I took about 95% of the photos myself.

Preorder The Pear Farmer's Kitchen

Print preorders open Friday, October 30, at 15% off through Sunday, November 8. Print is $37 and digital is $27, and books are ready November 20 for pickup at the shop or shipping. Preorder The Pear Farmer's Kitchen here.

For a head start, comment PEAR on Instagram @daniskitchenshop and I'll send you a few recipes from the book.

Listen to this week's episode of Mixing Up Success for the full story, and find classes, cookies and the book at Dani's Kitchen Shop.