# Why aren't pears as popular as apples? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 16, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066 "2019-05-16T16:40:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/21 "2019-05-16T20:24:37Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I am not so fond of the grit, myself. Yeah, me either. Pears taste fine, but they have a weird texture. And they’re not top of their ‘fruit category’ (sweet, soft-fleshed things) - peaches and nectarines are superior. Whereas apples really are top of the ‘crunchy fruits’ category. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/22 "2019-05-16T21:34:35Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Yes. Pears are sick, twisted mockeries of apples. Leathery hides, an uneasy combination of mushy and gritty flesh, a flavor that just screams, “NO!” Icky things, pears. I’ll just say I prefer apples. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/23 "2019-05-16T21:47:10Z")
I personally also prefer the taste of pears, but they’re too finicky to be standard fare in our house. Our kids love apples and pears and it is much easier to have a long lasting giant bag of apples in the house to add to their lunches or for them to casual snack on. Pears have too short a window where they’re the right texture … ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/24 "2019-05-16T22:32:30Z")
And now a word from the Apple Board: FUCK PEARS! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/25 "2019-05-16T22:36:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My neighbors have a commercial apple orchard. They also have a few pear trees. They’ve told me that pears have a shorter season, do not store as well, bruise easily, and do not sell as well as apples. They also do not reliably ripen when picked green, and green-picked pears aren’t very good. They soften in texture but don’t improve all that much in taste. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/26 "2019-05-16T22:42:09Z")
I have always been indifferent about pears, but I just got a bottle of pear brandy that I might love more than my dog. Everything that people love about pears times about 10 without the drawbacks plus it gets you drunk. All good in my book. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/27 "2019-05-16T22:45:24Z")
Because you have to get through the apple screen in order to get to the pear screen. So many more people have eaten 1000-point apples who have never made it to the 2000-point pears. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/28 "2019-05-16T22:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I have always been indifferent about pears, but I just got a bottle of pear brandy that I might love more than my dog. Well, yeah, I wouldn’t expect your dog to be very fond of pear brandy. He’d probably prefer bacon brandy. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/29 "2019-05-17T00:41:31Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Apples are Cary Grant; pears are Rory Calhoun. Pears are always standing and walking? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/30 "2019-05-17T03:04:08Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > They also do not reliably ripen when picked green, and green-picked pears aren’t very good. They soften in texture but don’t improve all that much in taste. Actually, most varieties of pears, unlike other fruits, have to be picked somewhat green. If they’re left on the tree to fully ripen, they’ll turn into mush. The trick is in judging exactly how green. Too green, and you will indeed get the results you’re describing. Flavor, as well as degree of grittiness, vary considerably between varieties, even when all picked at the right degree of ripeness. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/31 "2019-05-17T07:26:17Z")
Pears are for making perry, not eating. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/32 "2019-05-17T08:26:57Z")
[Red-wine poached pears](https://img.taste.com.au/KVKpFBX3/w720-h480-cfill-q80/taste/2016/11/spiced-red-wine-poached-pears-4478-1.jpeg) are the bomb, yo! All glossy, spicy velvety-ness, yum! I think it makes a difference how you buy your fruit, too? I get ours 3-4 times a week in small quantities, so have no problem with pears going [bad](https://www.deviantart.com/ursulav/art/The-Biting-Pear-of-Salamanca-29677500) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/33 "2019-05-17T08:33:54Z")
If you can get good pears, they’re amazing. I’m lucky enough to live in pear growing country so the pears in my area (when they’re in season) don’t have to travel far. Try some Comice Pears if you can find them. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/34 "2019-05-17T09:52:37Z")
Pears were a favorite for me growing up in Florida, but here in California, they are so tasteless and they never ripen well. I would love to have access to good pears. I’d eat them all the time and thanks to this thread, now I really want some pear pie with some pear brandy. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/35 "2019-05-17T10:31:23Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It doesn’t help that the window of peak pear ripeness is only about twenty minutes long. That was why I cut down our pear tree a while back. Every year it would be covered with rock hard pears. Then, on a Tuesday, all the pears would ripen. Wednesday they’d be overripe. And the ones that ended up on the ground attracted bees. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/36 "2019-05-17T14:42:39Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > That was why I cut down our pear tree a while back. Every year it would be covered with rock hard pears. Then, on a Tuesday, all the pears would ripen. Wednesday they’d be overripe. And the ones that ended up on the ground attracted bees. You probably should have harvested them about a week before that Tuesday; put most of them in the refrigerator, and taken as many as you would use within a day or so out at a time to finish ripening. (Ripening will also continue within the refrigerator, but it’ll be slowed down quite a bit.) Lift the pear up, bending it back on the stem. Do this fairly gently. If the pear snaps off, it’s ready to harvest. If the stem flexes but the pear stays on, it’s not ready yet. When it’s getting near the earliest date they’ve been ready before, check every couple of days. Some varieties also show a color change; but you need to know which variety is ready at which color – a color that signifies time to pick in one variety may indicate overripeness in another. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/37 "2019-05-17T14:54:32Z")
I live in apple and pear country. Between the two, nothing beats a ripe Comice pear, especially when peach season has finally ended. They’re at the top end of the sweet and juicy spectrum. I make pear galettes in the fall that are the bomb. Also, pears with bleu cheese are excellent. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/38 "2019-05-17T15:03:53Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > You probably should have harvested them about a week before that Tuesday; put most of them in the refrigerator, and taken as many as you would use within a day or so out at a time to finish ripening. (Ripening will also continue within the refrigerator, but it’ll be slowed down quite a bit.) We did that once, specifically to make pear wine. It was delicious, but a lot of work. I fought the urge to add spices, which ruined a banana wine I once made. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/39 "2019-05-17T15:40:51Z")
You can’t bake with them. Pear pies would just disintegrate into slop. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066/40 "2019-05-17T16:02:32Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Actually, most varieties of pears, unlike other fruits, have to be picked somewhat green. If they’re left on the tree to fully ripen, they’ll turn into mush. > > The trick is in judging exactly how green. Too green, and you will indeed get the results you’re describing. > > Flavor, as well as degree of grittiness, vary considerably between varieties, even when all picked at the right degree of ripeness. We had a Bartlett pear tree in our backyard when I was growing up, and there’s definitely a very narrow window where they’re an interesting combination of tangy, sweet AND still crisp. You almost never see it in stores though- they’re either too early, and totally bland and hard, or they’re ripe and sweet, but lose some of the tanginess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-pears-as-popular-as-apples/834066.md?page=3)