When are pears and apples ripe and ready to pick?

Question

My husband and I moved to a new home last year and I realized this summer that there are a pear and apple tree on our land. Both trees are in good shape and are bearing a ton of fruit. However, I have never had either of these trees before. I can't wait until time to pick the pears and apples to make desserts and whatnot....but I'm not sure when is the perfect time to pick.

The pears look ready now, they are large, but still very firm. The apples are green and are still growing. I'm not sure exactly what kind of apple or pear tree they are.

Any suggestions on when I need to pick the fruit so that it will be "just right". Or....how do I tell when the fruit is ready?

Answer 1

the pear should have color coming int it...like little red and yellow mixes...apple should be firm like you said it was...if i were you id take one down and taste it...to see if its 'perfect'...i think the time is right now its fall after all...hop you enjoy your fruit...i bet itll taste good when its fresh like that...

Answer 2

I'm not too sure about apples but I was able to pick a few pears today. They had just turned yellowish.  

Answer 3

When you test one and they taste ripe then they are ready for picking and eating....don't wait to long they may over rippen and tase nasty.

Answer 4

They should be slightly firm, and a tad tender to the touch for pears.  Apples you can easily tell by the vivid colors it displays brighter the color the more ready it is to be plucked.  By the way both species of fruit when they are ready to be plucked will be easy to pluck won't be a struggle.

Answer 5

the best time to pick your fruit from the tree,s is when you can see there nice in color and you can actually smell them in the air!..also pluck one from the tree,s and feel them..the pears should be firm yet feel almost like there soft!..the apples when they turn red thats the best time to harvest!

Answer 6

When they have bright colors like bright green or red

Answer 7

who knows do you live on a farm

Answer 8

Pears will ripen before the apples, and are probably ready now. Depends what part of the country you live in.You can tell when pears get ripe when their skin turns from green to pale yellow and the fruits begin to soften. Apples are ripe when they stop growing and develop nice red cheeks.

Answer 9

when a pear is ripe its suppose to be soft and when  apple is ripe its hard

Answer 10

Gently pull at the fruit, if it comes off the tree easily then it is ripe.I don't know where you are from but around March/April/May is when apples and pears ripen in South Australia depending on the variety.  

Answer 11

Pick one and taste it... depends on the apple if it turns red or not.

Answer 12

when they look just like they do when u buy them at the gorcery store