North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Douglas Woodard <dwoodard@becon.org>]

I believe I recall reading that Bierschmidt has a thin skin. Perhaps 
someone who grows it could comment.

Ripeness of the pear may have somethng to do with your perception of a 
thin skin.

For most pears, ripening off the tree is the key to quality. You need a 
closed container (presumably to retain the ethylene) for a few days. 
According to an RHS article I read some years ago, the temperature 
should be between 50 and 70 degrees F., the lower the better if not 
lower than 50 (but slower ripening) except that some pears need a 
slightly higher temperature than 50 degrees to avoid breakdown. The 
container should give a stable temperature. A crock is excellent. Years 
ago I gave a friend in Ottawa some Anjous from cold storage (Prince 
Edward County) about January and recommended that she ripen them in a 
crock in her basement. She did so and was ecstatic about the quality. 
I've read that Anjous need a couple of months cold storage to ripen 
properly.

Doug Woodard
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada


Lisa Almarode wrote:
> The bartlett pears from the neglected tree at our old place were sublime.  
> (I've never had a transcendent experience like that with any apple).  As 
> much as I don't want to love such a common variety and am sure there are 
> pear varieties that are better than bartlett, I'm afraid to plant 
> something I don't like as much.
>
> One thing I noticed was that the skins were so thin that I could eat the 
> meltingly ripe flesh without having to peel it.  In general I'm well on 
> the fussy side about thicker skins and peel a lot.  Skin thickness isn't 
> mentioned much in catalogs... are there other thin-skinned pears, or are
> most non-russetted pear skins thin?  
>
> Lisa in Oregon