Unlike apples, garden pears are picked before they're ripe and finished indoors. Left on the tree, most varieties rot from the core outward while the skin still looks green and firm, so by the time they look ready the inside is already going. Picking hard and ripening a few trays at a time, staggered over a couple of weeks, is what actually gets you a pear that's good all the way through.

Pick Pears Before They're Ripe, and Finish Them Indoors

What you need

3 shallow trays or boxes enough for a single layer, not stacked
1 roll newspaper or kitchen paper to line the trays
1 picking basket or soft-lined crate a cloth or towel laid in a crate works

Step by step

Test a pear by cupping it in your hand and lifting with a slight twist. If it comes away easily with the stalk attached, it's ready; if it resists, leave it a few more days.
5 min
Pick into a soft-lined basket rather than a bag, laying each pear in rather than dropping it — one bruise is enough to start it rotting once it's ripening indoors.
20 min
Carry the crop indoors out of direct sun and spread the pears in a single layer on trays or newspaper, not touching, somewhere cool — around 15-18°C is plenty.
10 min
Check the trays once a day and turn each pear over. It's ready to eat when it gives slightly at the stalk end under gentle thumb pressure.
3 min
Move ripe pears to the fridge a few at a time to hold them for up to a week, leaving the rest to keep ripening on the tray at room temperature.
5 min
Remove any pear that turns soft, wrinkled or shows a brown patch as soon as you spot it — one going over speeds up the rest on the same tray.
2 min

Afterwards

Wash and dry the trays before the next batch goes on them, so rot spores from one round don't carry to the next. Rake up windfalls from under the tree so they don't draw wasps, and if a late variety is still ripening on the branch, check it weekly.

Questions

Why not just let pears ripen on the tree like apples?

Most garden pears rot from the core outward if left on the tree, so by the time the skin looks ripe the inside is often already mealy or brown. Picking hard and finishing indoors is how you get one that's ripe all the way through.

How do I know it's time to start picking?

Lift a pear level with the branch and give it a slight twist. If the stalk parts from the spur easily, the tree is ready; if you have to tug, wait a few more days and test again.

Should I ripen the whole crop at once?

Spread picking and ripening over a couple of weeks instead. A few trays started a few days apart gives you ripe pears in succession rather than a glut that turns all at once.