Description
When it comes to which pear is best for baking, poaching or steaming, it’s the Bosc Pear that most chefs turn to. This week, we have Bosc pears coming from local backyard grower, Val Early (she’s a locally famous fishing guide, and she and her husband operate Salmon Run Golf Course).
Bosc is picked hard and “green” (although with Bosc, it’s actually hard and “russeted”), and stored in the cooler for a time in order to bring up the sugar. As the Bosc ripens, it turns from a russeted green color to a russeted “amber” color.
While her orchard is not certified, Val doesn’t spray; she also generally doesn’t thin, so her fruit varies in size and shape. But while the pears might LOOK a bit funky, they certainly TASTE great! Note: the supply is limited, and the harvest is generally all at once, so don’t be surprised if they’re only available for one week… 🙂
Did you know, you can tell when ANY pear is ripe by how much “give” there is around the stem of the pear. The more give around the stem (at the “neck” so to speak), the riper it is. Pears ripen from the inside-out, so by the time a pear is soft around the middle, it’s likely rotten on the inside. Since the neck of a pear is the first place to get soft, checking for ripeness here guarantees that you won’t bite into a rotten pear! Remember this catchy saying, “Check the Neck”, and you’ll always know when your pears are ready to eat!
