08/19/05 Pear freshness and science

08/19/05 Pear freshness and science

One of the reasons Northwest fresh pears are increasing in popularity on retail shelves these days is an age old problem appears to have some solutions. That problem is how to tell when the pear is ripe for best eating experience. Part of that is credited to educational efforts, such as Pear Bureau Northwest's "check the neck" campaign. But also getting some of the credit is science. Washington State University tree fruit horticulturalist Eugene Kupferman says there are new methods to demonstrate freshness to consumers. KUPFERMAN: One method is using ripe sense, which is a little dot on a plastic clam shell where they usually put four pears that changes color when the fruit begin to ripen up. And so you can buy for tonight's dinner, tomorrow night's dinner, or the next night's dinner based on the color of the dot on the clam shell. But perhaps the largest breakthrough has been expedited ripening. KUPFERMAN: We're warming the pear up slightly. We're using ethylene gas, which is a pear and apple give off on a natural basis, in order to speed the ripening, and then we are cooling them back down so we can give them some shelf life. And according to Kupferman, there are any number of ways ripening can take place. KUPFERMAN: We have developed methodologies to speed the ripening of the pairs at the packing house before they're shipped out. And certain stores instead have their own ripening rooms In the future, I foresee that stores will have pear ripening rooms.
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