North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

For all the pears we pick, I look for green fruit on the ground as the first 
sign that it's time to pick.  Then I try tilting the fruit to see if the 
stem pops loose.  If they do that, we pick the lot.  These are southern 
style pears that are going to be gritty and inedible if not picked at the 
right time.  Even the Kieffers are pretty decent eating in a few weeks if 
picked like this, and the slightly smaller kind called 'Pineapple' is 
terrific, it'll drip down to your elbow when ripened off the tree.  I use 
the name with some hesitation as all I read says that 'Pineapple' only 
requires about 150 hours chilling, and it doesn't seem they would ever 
manage a crop here.  But that's the name I've been given, and they seem 
smaller and about 2 weeks earlier than the Kieffers.     Donna
P.S.  For all you who are lucky enough to have pears this year, when the 
green fruit first start falling, pick them up and cut them in half 
lengthwise, remove cores and lay them face down on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 
300 degrees for 2 hours.  They are wonderful!  They don't turn out nearly as 
well once they start to ripen.