Peces aún la vida (Fish Still Life)

Peces aún la vida (Fish Still Life)
The wooden fish is an antique from Mexico, we keep it on our front porch to hold fresh fruit and vegetables. We most often eat lunch outside if weather is permitting. The pears in this still life photo are known as a fall pear. The fruit can be ripened on the tree, but for better quality, they are best picked early and allowed to ripen indoors. Most pears ripen from the inside out, and if left on the tree to ripen, many varieties will become brown at the core and rotten the middle. This is especially common in most fall pears.

Pears have a characteristically gritty texture caused by cells in the meat called stone cells. Although modern varieties have fewer of these stone cells, all varieties still contain them. Picking the pears before they have matured and holding them under cool controlled conditions prevents the formation of too many stone cells, and results in a less gritty pear!
Pears are delicate even when they're hard and green, so they're always picked by hand. A few guidelines to use in determining whether pears are ready to be picked include:

Attached to the tree: Pears are best picked when the fruit separates easily from the twigs. If it is hard to pull off the tree, it isn't ready!
Texture: A pear ready to be picked should have a feeling of springiness to its flesh. Close your hand around one and squeeze. If it feels absolutely rock hard, it's still not ready. You should be able to detect a slight feeling of give, but not too much.
Drops: when healthy fruits begin to drop, the others on the tree are ready;
Color: there is a change in fruit color from green to yellow; and the stem separates easily from the branch. To pick pears, grasp the fruit firmly and twist or roll it to make the stem separate from the tree.
Asian pears, unlike European pears, should be allowed to ripen on the tree. They need no after-ripening storage period. Asian pears are ready for harvest when they come away easily from the spur or branch when they are lifted and twisted slightly. Also when green skin color starts to change to yellow, they're ripe. .Use the taste test; they're ready when they taste good. Asian pears should be crisp and crunchy when eaten.
Marks on the Pears: Bugs (particularly squash bugs and stink bugs) bite fruit during development and this results in some imperfections in the pear. This is especially the case with organically raised fruit. These look like dents in the pears if the pears were bitten by a bug when they were young. This causes a spot that does not grow properly and makes a wrinkle in the pear. There's nothing wrong with these pears. They may look funny, but they will taste just as good as blemish-free pears, and it's better not to have the pesticides!


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