Storing pears
To keep our pears as fresh as possible, we harvest them when they’re fully grown, but before they’re ripe. If you want to keep pears for several days before using them, put them in the fridge straight away. Don’t store pears close together or in sealed plastic bags, because pears naturally produce ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process.
At room temperature, pears will ripen within a couple of days. If you want to eat them sooner, you can put them inside a paper bag or next to bananas in a fruit bowl.
Most pears don’t change colour much as they ripen, so the best way to see if they’re ripe is to ‘check the neck’. Pears are ripe when the flesh close to the stem become slightly soft. Ripe pears can be kept in the fridge, uncovered in a single layer for two or three days.
Keep pears away from strong-smelling foods when storing and preparing them, as they easily absorb smells.
Preparing pears
Gently wash pears under cool water and pat them dry before eating them fresh. Since most of the pear’s nutrients, as well as about half their fibre, are found in the skin, it’s best not to peel them.
To remove the core, you can use an apple corer, and then cut into pieces as desired. Once they’re cut, pears will quickly turn brown due to oxidation. To help prevent this, sprinkle cut pears with lemon, lime or orange juice.
Contact Info
Address
Old Oak Office Park,
1st Floor Oak Leaf Terrace,
1 Edmar Street, C/o Old Oak & Durban Road,
Bellville, 7530