Daily Dish the Sonoma Market blog
California Pear Party
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From early summer to fall, you can find California-grown pears at your local Nugget Markets. Many Golden State growers are fourth and fifth generation farmers along the Sacramento River Delta and up north in Mendocino and Lake County, some with trees over 100 years old still producing fruit to this day! The cooling nighttime temperatures in the Delta’s lowland levees along the river and orchard-lined hills of Mendocino are the perfect climate to make the perfect pear.
From early summer to fall, you can find California-grown pears at your local Nugget Markets. Many Golden State growers are fourth and fifth generation farmers along the Sacramento River Delta and up north in Mendocino and Lake County, some with trees over 100 years old still producing fruit to this day! The cooling nighttime temperatures in the Delta’s lowland levees along the river and orchard-lined hills of Mendocino are the perfect climate to make the perfect pear.
We’ve partnered with California Pears to share some fun facts about these delicious gems, like how to pick the best pears, how to ripen them and delicious applications for each variety.
What California-grown pears can you expect to see at your local Nugget Markets? Throughout the season there are a variety of pears you will see in the market and they all have something different to offer.
Bartlett
- Flavor: Firm and crunchy, they are the sweetest, juiciest and most flavorful.
- Ripening: Just like a banana! These ripen at room temperature and the color of the skin changes from green to yellow. Refrigerate to preserve ripeness for 3–5 days.
- Uses: Perfect for canning, cooking or slicing into salads.
Red Pear
- Flavor: The same sweet flavor as the popular Bartlett but red in color.
- Ripening: When the fruit is fully ripe and ready to eat, the skin will be bright red.
- Uses: These beauties add a gourmet touch to salads, desserts and cooking.
Bosc
- Flavor: Highly aromatic with dense, sweet-spicy flesh.
- Ripening: The skin doesn’t change color when ripe, instead the stem will shrivel and shrink.
- Uses: Popular for making desserts! Ideal for baking, poaching and cooking.
Comice
- Flavor: Sweet and juicy with a rich, buttery flavor and smooth, fine texture.
- Ripening: When ripe it will soften around the stem. The greenish-yellow color of the Comice changes very little.
- Uses: Perfect for snacking or served as a dessert pear with cheese.
Seckel
- Flavor: An excellent dessert pear, small in size but big on sweetness!
- Ripening: Feel around the stem end of the pear—when it’s soft, it’s ripe!
- Uses: Great served with cheese, for snacks or baked into tartlets or cookies.
Forelle
- Flavor: Plenty of juicy sweetness in a petite package!
- Ripening: The Forelle’s greenish skin turns bright yellow as it ripens, ultimately displaying small red specks when the pear is ripe and ready to enjoy.
- Uses: Ideal for kids’ lunches, paired with cheese in appetizers or eaten out of hand.
Hungry for more? Check out these Perfectly Pear'd recipes.
