Nutrition

Raw pear is 84% water, 15% carbohydrates and contains negligible protein and fat (table). In a 100 g reference amount, raw pear supplies 57 calories, a moderate source of dietary fiber, and no other essential nutrients in significant amounts (table).

Production

In 2017, world production of pears was 24.2 million tonnes, led by China with 68% of the total (table).

Pear production – 2017

Storage

Pears may be stored at room temperature until ripe. Pears are ripe when the flesh around the stem gives to gentle pressure. Ripe pears are optimally stored refrigerated, uncovered in a single layer, where they have a shelf life of 2 to 3 days.

Uses

Pears are consumed fresh, canned, as juice, and dried. The juice can also be used in jellies and jams, usually in combination with other fruits, including berries. Fermented pear juice is called perry or pear cider and is made in a way that is similar to how cider is made from apples.

Pears ripen at room temperature. They will ripen faster if placed next to bananas in a fruit bowl. Refrigeration will slow further ripening. Pear Bureau Northwest offers tips on ripening and judging ripeness: Although the skin on Bartlett pears changes from green to yellow as they ripen, most varieties show little color change as they ripen. Because pears ripen from the inside out, the best way to judge ripeness is to “check the neck”: apply gentle thumb pressure to the neck or stem end of the pear. If it yields to gentle pressure, then the pear is ripe, sweet, and juicy. If it is firm, leave the pear at room temperature and check daily for ripeness.

The culinary or cooking pear is green but dry and hard, and only edible after several hours of cooking. Two Dutch cultivars are “Gieser Wildeman [nl]” (a sweet variety) and “Saint Remy (pear) [nl]” (slightly sour).

Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture, and was used for making the carved blocks for woodcuts. It is also used for wood carving, and as a firewood to produce aromatic smoke for smoking meat or tobacco. Pear wood is valued for kitchen spoons, scoops and stirrers, as it does not contaminate food with color, flavor or smell, and resists warping and splintering despite repeated soaking and drying cycles. Lincoln describes it as “a fairly tough, very stable wood… (used for) carving… brushbacks, umbrella handles, measuring instruments such as set squares and T-squares… recorders… violin and guitar fingerboards and piano keys… decorative veneering.” Pearwood is the favored wood for architect’s rulers because it does not warp. It is similar to the wood of its relative, the apple tree (Malus domestica) and used for many of the same purposes.