It just isn’t the holiday season at Metropolitan Market without The Holiday Pear. It’s the sweetest, creamiest pear you’ll ever taste – without exaggeration. In fact, it’s so soft, we challenge you to slice through it with a spoon; it’ll cut as easy as butter.
The Farms
Our famous pears come to us from expert growers in Oregon, with the clay soil that makes for great growing conditions, which results in a phenomenal fruit – aromatic, alluring, and sweet. They boast a gorgeous sun-kissed blush color on the skin, which are like little pockets of sweetness.
Cold Conditioned to Pear-fection
After the pears are carefully picked, they are cold conditioned, which is a process that breaks down the fruit’s starch and converts it to sugar. Once those pears reach peak sweetness they make their way to our stores. Each pear is treated like the gift it is, and are individually wrapped in delicate tissue paper, and placed in boxes.
How to Pick a Pear
Let’s start with how it looks: Don’t shy away from russeting, it’s natural! Look for that pink-ish blush, it tells you the pear got an extra dose of sweetness on the branch. To determine ripeness, gently press on the neck (the area right around the stem). It should be slightly soft with some give; not hard, and not mushy. They’re best enjoyed about 1-3 days after purchase, but you can store them in the fridge for up to five days once they hit peak ripeness to keep them at their optimum level. Try to handle these pears as little as possible. Squeezing them too much leads to bruising and discoloration.
How to Cook with The Holiday Pear
The shortest answer here? Don’t! These pears are already so soft, sweet, and fragile that they don’t take on heat well. We recommend slicing them up and tossing them into a winter salad loaded with greens and blue cheese, or dipping the pears in chocolate for a quick, easy holiday dessert.