When Are Pears in Season?

Pears are nutritional powerhouses packed with vitamins, fiber, antioxidants, and minerals, yet they’re still a juicy treat sure to put a smile on your face after each bite.

Peak pear season runs from August through October, though overlapping seasons for US varieties mean you can enjoy them throughout the year. As a consummate fall fruit, pear sales increase between September and November, with another more modest increase in January. Though never likely to break the bank, they’re most expensive from April through to June.

Working on this week’s grocery list? Be sure to use the Fetch app (it’s free!) any time you grocery shop in order to earn rewards on the purchases you’re already making.

Turn your pears into points & earn rewards with Fetch Shop 

You’re already adding fresh produce to your grocery list each week, so why not get something in return for choosing to eat healthy? With Fetch Shop, you’ll earn points per dollar on the purchases you make at select stores when placing your order through the app, which means the more fruit and veggies you add to your list, the more rewards you’ll earn. Whether you’re scheduling a grocery pickup at Target using their Drive Up service or stocking up for a big get-together shopping online at Sam’s Club, you can turn your produce into Fetch points that can be redeemed for free gift cards when grocery shopping with Fetch Shop.

To earn rewards on fresh produce with Fetch Shop:

1. Download Fetch.
2. Open the app, and navigate to Fetch Shop; on your “Discover” (home) tab, you’ll find the Fetch Shop icon directly to the left of the camera icon at the bottom of your screen.
3. Once in Fetch Shop, scroll to the “Food & Drink” category, click where it says, “See all,” then find the grocery retailer of your choice, and select that store.
4. Tap “Go shopping!” and then simply grocery shop online as you would normally. And don’t forget to add those fruits and veggies to your cart to rack up even more points!

What are the different types of pears?

The US boasts ten varieties of pears, each offering a distinct flavor and texture to tantalize every taste bud and fit around every recipe.

Here’s a quick overview of the different types of pears you can enjoy:

• Green Anjou: Soft, juicy, and of middling sweetness for a pear.
• Red Anjou: Like its green cousin, but milder and slightly sweeter.
• Bartlett: Ultra juicy and very sweet.
• Red Bartlett: A touch sweeter than the classic Bartlett.
• Bosc: Refreshingly crisp and a little less sweet than others.
• Comice: Lush flesh and tied with Concorde for top sweetness.
• Concorde: Sweet like a comice, but much crisper.
• Forelle: Sharper flesh and less pronounced sweetness.
• Seckel: Crisp and firm.
• Starkrimson: Generally juiciest among pears with plenty of sweetness.

How to pick a pear at the grocery store

There’s a downside to pears, and we’re not going to hide it. Shopping for them can be awfully tricky.

See, pears shun the practice most fruits follow of ripening on the tree. Contrarians to the core (get it?), they’re picked unripe, shipped unripe, and usually end up in the store unripe. Since they also have the audacity to ripen from the inside out, the center of a pear may be mush by the time it’s soft on the outside.

Knowing how to tell if pears are ripe is vital. Here’s the trick: check the neck. Gently apply pressure around the stem. If there’s a little give but the rest of the fruit is firm, you’ve a ripe pear on your hands. Take it home to eat the same day or pick a few unripe pears to mature at home.

Other qualities to examine to confirm ripeness include:

• Skin: Light bruising isn’t a major issue with pears, but any large mushy spots should be a cause for concern. Ditto any tears, cuts, or indentations.
• Color: A pear starting to turn yellow or golden is soon-to-be-ripe and packed with flavor. Red varieties show a darker, richer shade as they mature.
• Smell: A lovely sweet fragrance should flow from a good pear, even when it’s not yet ripe.

How to ripen pears

Give them time, of course! One benefit of the pear’s ripening process is being able to buy them ahead of time and let them ripen throughout the week – a particular perk when you’re shopping for one. Simply leave them on the counter at room temperature and they’ll typically mature within four to seven days.

Pears required presently? Pop them in a brown paper bag to trap the ethylene produced as they ripen and con them into getting a move on. Bananas and avocados also release ethylene, so throw them in the same bag for additional haste.

How to store pears

In case you missed it above (or scrolled down here right away, missing some real zingers in the process), you can check if a pear is ripe by applying gentle pressure at the stem end. If it gives slightly, the pear is ripe.

Ripe pears can be stored in the fridge between 35 and 45 degrees and eaten within three to five days. Putting an unripe pear in the fridge is a handy hack for delaying the ripening process.

How to store cut pears

1. Brush with a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
2. Wrap in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container, then pop in the fridge.
3. Eat within three to four days.

How to freeze pears

1. Wash, peel, and core each pear.
2. Cut into thin, even slices.
3. Brush with a mixture of lemon juice and water to prevent browning.
4. Place slices on a cookie sheet in a single layer, freeze until solid, then pack into freezer safe bags.

How to cut a pear

Much like apples, pears contain cores along with a fair haul of black seeds. Those seeds can release cyanide in the gut, so it’s a bit of a given that they should never be ingested.

You can either eat around a pear’s center or choose to slice it, cube it, or remove the core entirely. Let’s take a look at how that works.

How to slice a pear

Rinse in cool water, then place on a cutting board and slice vertically from stem to bottom using a sharp knife. Cut each half vertically in half again to create quarters, then lay each one flat side down and cut diagonally to remove the core.

How to cube a pear

Repeat the steps above until the core is removed, then cut the quarters into strips before cutting each one crosswise to dice.

How to core a pear

Peel the pear using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler, then use a melon baller or spoon to scoop the base and then the core up through the stem. Dedicated fruit corers simplify things further – all that needs doing is placing the end of the corer over the stem, then pressing down firmly.

Can dogs have pears?

They can! Dogs get a good hit of copper, vitamin C, vitamin K, and fiber from pears, making them a healthy tidbit to supplement doggy diets. Be sure to cut pears into bite-size chunks and remove all the seeds before sharing with your canine companion. 

Avoid any canned or jarred pears. Fresh is the only way to go when it comes to feeding pears to your pooch.

Easy pear recipes to make your mouth water

Biting into a nice fresh pear as you stroll tree-lined trails carpeted with newly fallen leaves is one of those simple pleasures fall is made for, but they’re also wonderful in a wide range of recipes. 

Here, we’ve collected our top pear recipe picks.

How to make pear preserves

Personally produced pear preserves prevail peerlessly over purchased pear preserves, perhaps prompting pondering and puzzling pertaining to people’s perplexing propensity for picking purchased pear preserves over pear preserves prepared at home.

No more alliteration, ever. Considerably harder than expected. At least tell my editor you liked it.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of pears, cored and sliced
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 (2 oz) pack of powdered fruit pectin
• 8 cups of white sugar
• ½ cup of brown sugar
• 2 tsp of ground allspice
• 2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Recipe:

1. Combine the pears, water, and lemon juice in a large saucepan, then cover and simmer over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the pectin, then bring to a full boil.
3. Stir in the white sugar, then boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved (should take about a minute).
4. Remove from the heat, then stir in your brown sugar, allspice, and nutmeg.
5. Pour preserves into hot and sterilized jars, leaving a half inch of space at the top.
6. Run a clean knife through each jar to remove any air bubbles, then top with lids and screw them on tight.
7. Place a rack in a large stockpot and fill halfway with water before bringing to a boil.
8. Keeping them 2 inches apart, carefully lower each jar into the boiling water with a holder, then pour in more boiling water until jars have at least one inch of coverage.
9. Bring to a rolling boil, then cover and leave for 10 minutes.
10. Remove jars, place them several inches apart, then let them rest for 12 to 24 hours.
11. Press each lid’s center to ensure it’s on tight, then store in a cool, dark place.

How to make pear butter

You know apple butter. You love apple butter, and a buttered pear is equally tasty. Better yet, this is a great way to use any leftover ripe pears you might have knocking around the kitchen. Our favorite recipe makes about 2 cups in under an hour.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. of ripe pears, peeled, cored, and diced
• 3 tbsp of honey
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves

Recipe:

1. Add all your ingredients to a medium saucepan, then stir together as you bring things to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Once boiled, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for around 50 minutes with the lid on but slightly open. Stir occasionally to keep the bottom from burning.
3. Once reduced and thickened, take the pan from the heat and transfer its contents to a food processor. Hit the Pulse button until smooth.
4. Transfer to canning jars or a heat-proof container, then seal, refrigerate, and use within a week.

How to make a pear martini

Unite flavors of fall and winter in this unexpectedly sweet cocktail. It’s a crisp and refreshing little tipple perfect for anyone seeking something a little different to impress guests or shake up their own martini game.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 ripe pear, diced
• 2 oz of Absolut Pears vodka
• 1 oz of fresh lemon juice
• ½ to 1 oz of simple syrup

Recipe:

1. Add your diced pear to a cocktail shaker and muddle vigorously to release its juices and break up the fruit.
2. Add your pear vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice to the mix, plus a cup of ice.
3. Shake for 20 to 30 seconds, then strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a thin pear slice.

Earn rewards on every grocery haul with Fetch

Once you’ve downloaded the Fetch grocery app, all you’ll need to do is snap a photo of every receipt, or grocery shop online with Fetch Shop, and we’ll start filling your account with reward points that let you earn free gift cards to spend on everything from Xbox and Amazon to Chipotle and Panera. We’ll even bring personalized offers on point-earning brands to help stretch your budget further.