Food - Drink
The Easy Way To Check If A Pear Is Ripe
By JOHN J LEE
Some fruits have a small window of time where they're ready to eat, only to spoil just a day later, but pears are a bit more forgiving. These fruits don't fully ripen on the tree and must be picked when slightly underripe; while they are less likely to arrive at stores already mushy and overripe, you should still know the signs of a perfect pear.
The biggest sign of a well-ripened pear is a neck (AKA the area around the stem) that’s tender, not mushy or rock-hard; the area should give slightly when pressed. As for bad signs, avoid pears with bruises or dark brown spots, or fruit that has torn skin; however, if your pear looks perfect, but just feels a bit hard, you can ripen it at home.
Ripening your pears at home involves leaving them out at room temperature until they reach their ideal tender texture. Pears naturally produce ethylene gas that can expedite the ripening process, just like bananas and tomatoes, if you're feeling impatient, store a pear and banana together to make both of the fruits ripen even faster.