Ripen Your Pears Faster By Following This Simple Tip!

Do you like pears? They are indeed tasty! Both tart and sweet, they are delicious in fruit juice, compote or jam. They are also perfect for preparing some seasonal pies or more refined desserts. Have a few pears tempted you while shopping, but they are still too “green” to eat? No problem! You can ripen these fruits at home with a simple trick. Want to learn more? Please read the rest of this article to discover our secret!

How To Ripen Pears Quickly

Want to ripen some slightly green pears in no time? We will help you! First, you need to inspect the fruits one by one. They must not be wormy, damaged, or rotten. If so, place them in your compost bin, as you won’t be able to consume them.

The Step-By-Step Method

Once this task is completed, take inventory of your closets to get your hands on a paper bag. Choose a clean pack intended for food use. Do you have the bag in your hands?

• Gently place the pears there without crushing or shocking them. They must be spaced far enough apart so as not to overlap.
• Finally, close the paper bag and place it in your cellar or pantry.
• You must keep it closed throughout the maturation period.

After a few days of patience, open the paper bag and inspect your pears again. Are they ready to eat? You can place them in your fruit basket. Are they still firm? Close the bag and wait 1 to 2 more days.

Ethylene: The Secret Ingredient Of Our Trick

You may be wondering what helps your pears ripen after picking. It’s not about magic—quite the contrary. In fact, it is a gas naturally secreted by fruits that is responsible for this phenomenon. Do you want to know more? Here are some explanations. Throughout the ripening period, the fruits release a specific gas called ethylene, which acts as a natural plant growth hormone. You see, ethylene causes starch to break down into sugar.

It also activates certain enzymes responsible for ripening. And when you enclose your pears in a paper bag, you create a sufficiently enclosed space to facilitate the concentration of this natural gas. The ethylene thus accumulates all around your fruit without suffocating them since the porosity of the paper allows the excess to be evacuated.

You may be wondering why you should use a paper bag instead of a plastic bag to ripen fruit at home. It’s simple! When pears ripen artificially, they produce moisture, which escapes by capillary action between the paper fibers. In an airtight plastic bag, this excess water would be kept in contact with the fruit, which would eventually rot.

Ripening The Fruit: To Go Further

You will have understood that to ripen pears quickly, you must wrap them in a paper bag. It would help if you were patient, as the maturation process can take some time. In principle, fruit that is still firm should be left in the bag for a few days before being consumed. For the greenest pears, you will have to wait one week or even ten days before obtaining the expected result.

Add Apples

Want to speed up the process? Here’s something you might like: add 2 or 3 apples to your pears. This should tip the scales! Indeed, apples release significant quantities of ethylene, which makes them an asset when looking to ripen fruit quickly.

What About Other Fruits?

Did you know? Apples and pears aren’t the only fruits that release ethylene. You can also ripen bananas, peaches, nectarines, kiwis, plums, tomatoes, avocados or apricots at home by enclosing them in a paper bag. Try this tip now, and you will love it! You have just discovered our unstoppable tip for ripening pears more quickly. You can use this for many other fruits. Are artificially ripened fruits good for your health? You can eat them without fear because they contain as many vitamins and minerals as their ready-to-eat cousins.

Also Read: Weird, But True! Why You Shouldn’t Throw Away Your Kiwi Fruit Skins!