Help identifying pear and harvesting advice

[orangutangle]

Hi all, this is my first post, so hello!

I moved into a house just over a year ago with an elderly and rather sickly looking pear tree in the garden. Last year it had no fruit at all but this year seems to be an exceptional year for fruit in Sussex and it has about 20 nice looking pears. Can anyone help me identify what variety they are? Here's some pics:



They're 8-9cm in length and about 7cm at the widest point.

Based on some Googling, I'm guessing they're Doyenne du Comice. There seems to be lots of conflicting advice out there about when to pick them, with some people saying they should be picked green and stored in cold storage for at least a month before ripening in the fruit bowl, and others saying pick them ripe and eat them then.

I'd appreciate any help.

[orangepippin]

Yes, they do look quite like Comice, which is quite common in the south-east.

I would pick them when they are still more or less hard at the top, then ripen in a fruit bowl.

[yummersetter]

Unless you're a big family greedy for pears I'd put three quarters of them ( the most perfect ones) in the fridge and just a few in a bowl - slightly damaged ones if there any should be eaten first.
As the ones in the bowl go slightly yellow and smell delicious, eat them and replace with some from the fridge. If you let them ripen too long they might go brown from the core outwards.

[orangepippin]

Yes, a much better idea.

[yummersetter]

Autumn . . sigh . . . when the prosecco gets turfed out of the fridge so the pears have enough room.

[orangutangle]

Autumn . . sigh . . . when the prosecco gets turfed out of the fridge so the pears have enough room.

Haha!

Thank you all for your helpful replies, I'm going to follow your advice yummersetter and put them in the fridge. To clarify, when should I pick them? They're hard at the moment, not soft even at the stalk end. Do I need to wait until they twist off the stalk easily?

I've come across an interesting way of storing them in the fridge: placing them in a plastic bag, blowing it up and tying it, so they're kept in a sort of balloon. This is supposed to stop core rot. Anyone heard of that trick?

[yummersetter]

I pick them when the stalk snaps if you lift the pear up at right angles. Not for a couple of weeks yet here - but I've only got one Comice fruit this year so I expect the birds will get it beforehand. I feel jealous of your 20 as they're so juicy and delicious when they're perfect. Nothing like a supermarket pear, a fruit to remember through the winter months.

[orangutangle]

Thanks a lot, I'll do that. This was one of those situations where the more I read online, the more confused I was so it was great to get some straightforward advice. It's not much comfort I know, but I'll think of you when I'm eating 'em!

[Farmer_Gyles]

To clarify, when should I pick them? They're hard at the moment, not soft even at the stalk end. Do I need to wait until they twist off the stalk easily?

Pears don't ripen (and therefore don't soften) on the tree - you need to pick them to get them to ripen
At this time of year, they should come off easily by pulling them upwards - if they come off easily, they're ready to pick

I've come across an interesting way of storing them in the fridge: placing them in a plastic bag, blowing it up and tying it, so they're kept in a sort of balloon. This is supposed to stop core rot. Anyone heard of that trick?

Have you ever wondered why we can get fresh British apples in spring, when they're picked in late summer / autumn?
Commercial growers pick apples at the normal time, then store them in large airtight warehouses - they remove all the oxygen and replace it with either carbon dioxide or nitrogen (can't remember which) - the lack of oxygen stops the apples maturing / rotting - they remain in the same condition they were picked for months
I guess the bag trick is similar - remove all the oxygen by breathing the air in and out of the bag a couple of times and the fruit will last longer - I'll give it a try ....

[veggiechicken]

Watch you don't end up with squeaky voice Farmer G
I have a 3 pear family tree, bought from Woollies just before they closed down. One branch of the family - and I think its the Comice has quite a few fruit - not much, if anything on the other 2 siblings. I'll have a good look tomorrow - I feel ready for a pear or two

[orangutangle]

An update: The pears have just done their 30 days in the fridge, and I've taken a few out to ripen. We've just eaten the first couple and they are, by a country mile, the nicest pears I have ever eaten. Thank you all so much for your good advice.

[yummersetter]

Good-oh. I went to investigate mine a few weeks back and a blackbird flew away from the tree squawking. As I got closer, the Comice pear fell - and I caught it. If I'd gone into that garden five minutes before it wouldn't have been pecked, as it was I could only keep it a few days before it started to rot but the half I had was enough to remind me of how good they can be.
It's really a good feeling, eating your own fruit that's properly picked and stored so that you're eating it at its best, better than supermarket pears will ever be.