Five bushels of pears later..
We finally got around to picking our pear trees.
Our first harvest from our Red Bartlett tree.
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The goats waiting at the fence row hoping we will share.
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They were perfectly happy to dispose of the less than desirable pears.
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We were very happy to get our first Red Bartlett. This is our first full size tree and it took a couple of years to produce. The other trees are Bartlett (dwarf). The only difference between the Bartlett and Red Bartlett is the coloring.
I was a little disappointed that a lot of the pears were on the small side. We didn't thin them out enough and the end result was a lot of small fruit. I guess it will be a good year to try Pear sauce!
We also noticed a brown coloring on the pears. I looked it up and it is called "Russeting". I was happy to find out that even though it is not attractive, it doesn't affect the quality of the pears. It can be caused from high humidity, rainfall, cooler weather, and heavy dew. We had the perfect conditions for it this year.
Pear Facts:
Pears are picked before they are ripe. If you allow pears to ripen on the tree if affects the texture (gritty) and stone cells develop. It also affect the flavor. You want to pick fruit when they are light green in color.
Ripening can take up to ten days. To speed up ripening you can store them in enclosed plastic bags.
Pears should be ripened indoors at temps. of 60-70 degrees (ideally)
The pears are picked and now we wait!
Great pic of the goat with its tongue hanging out! I do pear jam and a canned spiced pear. My mom gets the pears from a tree located in front of their favorite restuarant. I need to plant a tree! Good luck with your harvest!
ReplyDeleteSpiced Pears...sounds yum!!
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by The Great Blog Train!! What a wonderful blog you have:) Your pears would be great in my Pear Nut Bread~ Living in Northern WI I have traveled to the Beautiful State of MI many times:) Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines * I will be stopping back:)
ReplyDeleteYour recipe looks great. I plan on giving it a try :)
DeleteThanks for stoping by the Great Blog Train and the follow! I too am from the great mitten state! Born and raised. I would love to have my own apple trees some day.
ReplyDeletekaitlyn
Three Sisters and Us
I have been meeting a lot of people online these days that have lived in Michigan :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Aaawww... I love the photos of your goats! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
ReplyDeleteThank you for hopping on board The Great Blog Train!
Thanks Marci!
Deletea friendly neighbor left me a lot of pears on the doorstep with a note saying that she had way to many pears on her 3 trees and to please help her by eating them. well, we did and canned some and made pear butter with the last few. gosh, I had never heard of that but, I used my applebutter recipe and it came out wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing how your pear butter went!! I think I am going to give that a try too.
DeleteYour pears look great, especially for the first year. We've had Bartlett pear trees for about 20 years, and I can tell you that the harvest will be different every year. Our favorite cooked way to enjoy them is in fried pear pies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I hope you'll try the sauerkraut, it's so easy. Have a great day.
Toni
I agree about the harvest varying, this year was a decent year. Thanks for stopping by!!
DeleteWow...so many pears! How incredible! Enjoy every little bite!
ReplyDeleteI love your new background. The pears look great. We had a late freeze that took all our blossoms. No pears, peaches, or apples for me this year. :(
ReplyDeleteKristin, that is too bad :( We have had years without pears because of late frost.
DeleteGreat post! I am a new fan and am going to spend some time browsing! I would love for you to come share at my From the Farm Blog Hop. We're trying to reach 300 linkups this week and we're almost there!
ReplyDeleteLisa
Fresh Eggs Daily
http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/09/from-farm-blog-hop-and-recipe-for.html
Our pears are a bit on the small side too, but even with the outer part not looking so appealing, the inside of the fruit is beautiful. Small pears are perfect for canning! I have successfully canned my small pears for many years now and they are a special treat in the winter. ( especially if brandied )
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on this harvest !
I wasn't sure how the sauce would turn out, but the girls really liked it. I went out last night and picked another 1/2 bushel of the smaller pears. They work great for the sauce,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing at Back to the Basics for Tuesdays with a Twist!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week!
http://back2basichealth.blogspot.com/2013/09/tuesdays-with-twist-24.html