Storing pears?

[veggiechicken]

Any tips on storing pears please? I have a pear tree - probably a Conference - in the garden. When the pears started to fall from the tree I picked them all and put them in a cardboard box, well separated from each other, and put them in a cold room. I have been eating a couple of them each day and they were mostly OK. Now, they have all turned brown and squishy inside although they look alright.
Am I wrong to expect to be able to store them for more than a few weeks? If so, is there a way of preserving apart from freezing. I don't want to lose them again next year.

[northepaul]

A pear ripens from the inside out, so I imagine they were just ripening when you stored them. If they are squishy, then they wont keep I'm afraid. What you could do, is cook them up and freeze the pulp for pies etc.

[Nicos]

If you pick them greener then they'll last a bit longer in storage- but I've been wondering about how to store them too.
I had thought of sterilizing them in jars of pure apple juice and storing in a very dark place to try and prevent the fruit from turning brown.
Not tried it, as we've pigged out on them instead!!!!!

Other alternatives were fruit leathers or dehydrating them???.

[FB.]

Fallen fruit is often over-ripe and needs to be eaten within a week or two (it may also have been bruised which will shorten its life).
Fruit for storing is often picked under-ripe. It keeps better but taste isn't as good because it didn't properly develop.
In general, pears don't keep well - and those that do often take months of storage to ripen, or can only be used for cooking. The early-ripening varieties of pears (July-August) last just a few days. The later-ripening varieties (September-October) can keep for up to several weeks if kept cool and out of the light, but, as you've found; pears tend to rot from the core and you don't know about it until you cut them open.

[FB.]

I grow my pears as small bushes so as to not have too much fruit which we can't eat (Doyenne d'ete: July) (Williams: August) (Conference: September) (Concorde:October). I had - but lost to canker - a late-keeping Catillac pear half-standard tree (when picked it's a hard, gritty-texture cooker which can become acceptable as an eater in spring).

I have a great interest in old, late-keeping, disease-tolerant apple varieties which I can just chuck in a box or sack in my garage without needing careful handling or special storage conditions.

[veggiechicken]

Thank you all for your replies. Its enough to convince that I do not need any more pear trees if they are going to rot before I can eat them. Frozen pears I find a bit insipid. I did pickle some once in a sweet pickle syrup and they were OK - but don't ask for the recipe as I can't remember it!
I also have a family pear tree with 3 varieties which doesn't carry much fruit but does spread the season a bit.
FB. Can you tell me which old late-keeping, disease tolerant apples you recommend please. I want to buy some more trees and the thought of chucking some in a sack is very tempting!

Incidentally, all of my Brownlees Russet have been picked now as they were being blown from the tree. Most of them had some damage - small holes - but they are such solid apples I would have thought that they would store well if undamaged.

[FB.]

Brownlees Russet is usually good for long-term storage. It may shrivel but is still very edible.
I'm surprised that your BR apples have taken so much pest damage. The hard, sharp, late-keepers don't usually take much damage.
Is your BR a young tree with a light crop, or is it a stressed/sickly tree, or are there no other apple varieties (esecially summer-ripening) nearby to draw the pests away?

[FB.]

Some late-keepers which I grow (or grew), which have a better-than-average chance of doing well in the higher-rainfall Western parts of the UK:

Alfriston
Annie Elizabeth
Belle de Boskoop
Brownlees Russet
Crawley Beauty
D'Arcy Spice
Hambledon Deux Ans
Rosemary Russet

[veggiechicken]

My Brownlees Russet was, I understand, planted about 1940 and hasn't been pruned or had any treatment for 30 years (since I've owned it). Its in with a number of other standard apple trees, all of the same age and condition. The holes are quite small, more like little peck marks. I'm sure they'll keep for a while longer. I've certainly had them until Christmas in years past. I found a note of some of the other apple trees that have been identified - they are Orleans Reinette, John Standish, Tom Putt, Keswick Codling. There are others too. I must find that list!!
I'll make a note of your recommended late-keepers for my replacement programme. many thanks once again for your help.

[FB.]

If you need something peck-resistant, try Norfolk Beefing, which were once (jokingly) said to be suitable for use as cannon-balls; being hard and heavy (dense).
The tree itself has some resistance to scab and mildew, but was - in ancient times - considered to become rather cankered as it aged, so you may find that canker was a problem.

Alternatively, consider a variety such as Golden Harvey or Court Pendu Plat, which have some scab resistance and not too prone to other problems. Its advantage would be that it produces lots of small-ish fruits; enough for the pests to take a share and still leave some for you.

If codling/sawfly grubs are the cause of the "holes" problem, consider planting a variety to draw-away the pests, such as Discovery, Scrumptious or Ellison's Orange (although somewhat canker-prone).

Of course, it is possible that your Brownlees Russet has been mis-identified.
Does it have the typical pink flowers which remain all-over pink even after the buds have opened fully, whereas other apple blossoms are mostly white with only hints of pink or with pink veins?