A pear lifted gently and turned a quarter-turn until it parts from the branch, picked in dry weather and unmarked, is a pear that can still be on your table months later. Kept in the dark on shelves or in crates, no fruit touching its neighbour, at around 50°F (10°C), healthy pears will last until winter’s end.
Once you remove any that fall to the ground and must be quickly eaten, and those infected with diseases, worms or fungus, there still remains a sizeable portion of perfectly healthy pears that can be kept all winter long.
In proper storage conditions, pears will keep long enough for you to eat them until the end of winter, even the beginning of spring.
From harvest to storage, here is the procedure to follow for the best possible preservation of your pears.
Pear varieties that keep well
Although all pears can keep for several months with proper storage conditions, some varieties stand out in that they keep more easily. A few hold well and are even tasty until spring.
Here are the pear tree cultivars that keep for a very long time since they mature very late:
Late-maturing cultivars are the ones that keep longest
‘Beurre Bachelier’
‘Beurre Diel’
‘Beurre d’Anjou’
‘Beurre d’Hardenpont’
‘Colmar Nelis’
‘Beurre de Nivelles’
‘Doyenne du Comice’
‘Doyenne d’hiver’
‘Duchesse d’hiver’
‘Figue d’Alencon’
‘Grand Soleil’
‘Jules d’Airoles’
‘Leon Gregoire’
‘Orpheline d’Enghien’
‘Passe-Colmar’
‘Royale d’hiver’
‘Saint-Germain d’hiver’
‘Saint-Mathieu’
‘Tardive de Toulouse’
‘Triomphe de Jodoigne’
‘Zephirin Gregoire’
There are still many more, since the number of pear varieties is incredible!
The three stages of keeping pears, at a glance
Keeping pears well is a sequence of three steps, each with its own timing and its own risk. Use this table to see where you are in the process before reading the detail below.
The three stages of keeping pears, at a glance
Stage
When
What to do
Main risk
Harvesting
Early to late autumn
Pick from the tree in dry weather, choosing fruit neither too green nor too ripe
Fallen fruit keeps only a few days
Selecting
The first week after picking
Spread the fruit out without touching and watch it, then set aside the healthiest pears
Discoloured or spotted fruit slipping through
Storing
Early winter through to early spring
Crates or shelves in the dark, fruit not touching, good air flow, around 50°F (10°C)
Damp, and one rotting pear contaminating the crate
Get all three right and the last fruit of the crate will still be worth eating at the end of winter.
Harvesting pears
This is an important step because it has a direct impact on how long pears keep.
No point in picking up fallen pears, they are very fragile and will only keep for a few days. You must eat them quickly or prepare culinary wonders such as pear liquor, Belle Helene pear dessert, pear yogurt cake, cinnamon cracker mousse with fried pears, or pear compote…
You must collect the pears directly from the tree, and they must be carefully chosen and picked in dry weather.
Choosing pears that are neither too green nor too ripe
Lifting the pear up ever so slightly, rotate it by a quarter turn.
If the pear detaches from the tree, it is ready to harvest.
Place it carefully in the basket to avoid wounding it.
Don’t pile them up in the basket. Prefer wide, shallow stackable trays instead.
Selecting the pears that will keep best
To ensure that each pear is pristine and doesn’t bear any trace of disease or fungus, the first step is to segregate the “1st class” pears.
Keep the fruit apart so contamination cannot spread
Spread the pears out, ensuring that they don’t touch to avoid spread of any possible later contamination.
Observe them for about a week.
Remove any pears that show signs of weakness (darkening, coloring, browning, spots, etc).
Segregate the most beautiful pears, those that look healthiest.
These are the ones that are worth trying to keep.
Be strict: a single “sick” pear might contaminate its entire crate!
Storing and keeping pears for the winter
Wide shallow trays stop the fruit bruising itself
In proper storage conditions, you’ll be able to keep your pears past Christmas, even until spring.
Spread the pears out in crates or on shelves, without them touching each other.
Ensure that air circulates well around the pears.
Store the crates in the dark, away from moisture and ideally at a temperature of around 50°F (10°C).
Inspect your pears regularly to quickly remove those that deteriorate first.
With this bit of advice, you should be able to keep your pears for many a long month, and thus savor fresh fruit in winter.
Disinfect the surfaces you’ll be resting your “Class A” harvest, and let it dry before placing the pears on it.
Images: Pixabay: Michaela, M W, Kerstin Riemer, nafeti_art
Written by Gaspard Lorthiois | Loves helping out, especially when it comes to growing things. Worked in herbal medicine, runs a farm, and dabbles in tech. Master's degree and engineer.
