The New Complete Book of Food
Buying This Food
Look for: Large, firm, ripe pears. Most fruit and vegetables get softer after they are picked
because their pectic enzymes begin to dissolve the pectin in their cell walls. With pears, this
reaction occurs if the pear is left on the tree to ripen, which is why tree-ripened pears some-
times taste mushy. The best-tasting pears are ones that are picked immature and allowed to
ripen in storage or on your grocer’s shelf.
Look for bright, clear-colored pears. Anjou pears are yellow to green (with some russet
shades) and have a bland, buttery flesh. Bartletts are clear golden or yellow with a reddish
blush and sweet, juicy flesh. Boscs are russet, sweet and juicy. Round Comice pears have a
yellow green skin and fine, juicy flesh. Red Seckel pears are firm and aromatic. Anjou, Bartlett,
and Bosc are good eating and cooking pears; Comice and Seckel pears are for eating.
Avoid: Cut, shriveled, or bruised pears. They are probably discolored inside.Storing This Food
Store pears at room temperature for a few days if they are not fully ripe when you buy them.
Pears ripen from inside out, so you should never let a pear ripen until it is really soft on the
surface. A ripe pear will yield when you press it lightly with your palm.
Do not store pears in sealed plastic bags either in or out of the refrigerator. Without
oxygen circulating freely around the pear, the fruit will begin to “breathe” internally, creat-
ing compounds that turn the core brown and make brownish spots under the skin.Preparing This Food
Handle pears with care; never peel or slice them until you are ready to use them. When you
bruise a pear or slice into it, you tear its cells, releasing polyphenoloxidase, an enzyme that
hastens the oxidation of phenols in the fruit, producing clumps of brownish compounds
that darken the pear’s flesh. You can slow this natural reaction (but not stop it completely)
by chilling the pears, brushing the cut surface with an acid solution (lemon juice and water,
vinegar and water), or mixing the peeled, sliced fruit into a fresh fruit salad with citrus fruits
full of vitamin C, a natural antioxidant.What Happens When You Cook This Food
Like other fruits and vegetables, pears have cell walls made of cellulose, hemicellulose, and
pectic substances. As the fruit cooks and its pectins dissolve, it gets softer. But no amount
of cooking will dissolve the lignin particles in the pear flesh. In fact, the softer the pear, the
easier it is to taste the lignin particles.