Please help me identify these!

cindysink

I'm trying to identify these pears? Anyone have any ideas? It's a huge tree in a bush field with an abundance of fruit. In Ontario Canada, doesn't seem to have any flavor even when it is yellowish, which I would assume are ripe. Good texture but no taste. My husband said his father called them winter pears. Help!?!

Pete.8

So called Winter Pears are picked when mature (Oct-Dec) then ripened somewhere cool for about 4 weeks before they're ready to eat.
Unlike most fruits, all pears ripen from the inside to the outside. So by the time the outside appears to be ready to eat, often the inside is already starting to rot.
So they're picked when the inside is ripe and left somewhere cool for the rest of it to ripen.
To test for matureness (?) wait for the skin to turn from green to yellowish then lift the fruit in your hand to horizontal, if it snaps off it's ready to ripen. For late pears that could be toward the end of the year (in the UK)
To test when a pear is ready to eat, hold it in the palm of your hand and gently press your thumb just under the stalk, if it gives a little it's ready. Don't delay, eat straight away, they don't keep once ripe.
Try leaving yours for a while (around room temp) and do the thumb test - you may be pleasantly surprised when they're ripe. But they may not be ready to pick yet.
I picked a few Glou Morceau in November last year and had one at Christmas