Bradford Pears??

I know that Bradford Pears are not supposed to produce anything other than little tiny pea-sized fruit. One of mine wasn't listening. Two years ago, there was one branch of full sized pears that we found by accident, but even following the directions to let them ripen on the counter, they never did. This year it's half the tree. Found them yesterday, they're about half the size, and the same shape as a Barlett. I'm wondering whether to try to harvest any down the road, or just leave them for the cows (once I find out if it's safe).
Any thoughts or experiences? These trees are quite large, and may be pretty old. I've also never noticed that they smell rotten when they bloom, supposedly a charachteristic of Bradford pears. Maybe they've been misidentified?

This message was edited Jul 25, 2008 9:30 AM

It sounds like they were misidentified. Pears need some chilling to ripen. Here is something Ed Fackler, a living great in the fruit world, said about ripening pears:

Most all European pears (exception is the new Green Jade),
require post picking chill to properly mature. Or, when fruit exhibit slight color changes, begin to test pressure (using your thumb) near the stem. When there is a slight "give", pick all the fruit, store at or near 35 degrees for 7 or more days. Then you can remove them as needed, allow them to sit at room temps for 2-4 days which allows them to ripen to peak flavor.
Years ago, I got a letter from an older NAFEX fellow who told me that European types were very difficult to ripen due to varietal quirks or requirements in post harvest handling. He said "Ed, if you live long enough to learn how to properly ripen 10 varieties, you'll be lucky".
I'm still working on it!!!"

Scott

That certainly could explain why they never ripened for me. I do remember looking for directions on harvesting pears, but I don't remember exactly what I did. They looked exactly like Bartletts. The tree next to it IS a Bradford, if the tiny fruits are a guide. When I first saw the branch of "big" pears two years ago (last year there was a late freeze, so nothing) I thought it was just a sport, like on a grafted tree. Guess not, no-one would graft onto a Bradford, would they??
Ah, the mysteries of old Homesteads:).
Thanks for the help, I love pears.

There are a number of crab pears. Usually seedlings that someone turned out. Many of them never get ripe, or if they do have such a rought taste that you have to be really hungry to eat one. Back in my youth, lots of folks used them for pear preserves and called them preserving pears.

I can preserve them?? I'm not sure I want to hear this, there are hundreds...*G*. My crab apples are much smaller than my "regular' apples, would it be the same for pears?
Thanks FarmerDill, I'll check that out. I do hate to see them go to waste.

Oh dear. The only recipe I'm finding is for crab-pear gin. Well, enough of that and I won't care about the rest of them, I guess.....

This message was edited Jul 26, 2008 8:40 AM

Here you go Cat;
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmas-Pear-Preserves/Detail.aspx
http://www.recipezaar.com/37193
http://www.texascooking.com/recipes/pearprsv.htm

OH! You mean that any recipe for preserving pears will work? I was looking for "CrabPear" recipes. That would sure help. I did read some, but it seemed the pears were ripe (okay, 1/4 unripe) when used, and if these don't ripen, I didn't think it would work. Should I just wait until they're full size? The last time they got to the size and shape of Bartletts, but I don't remember when that was :(.
FarmerDill, you always teach me something.
Thank you :)