GROWING AND PROCESSING

Bartlett pears are self-pollinating, but growers frequently hire beekeepers to set up hives in the orchards to assist with this process. Un]ike many fruits from deciduous trees, pears do not ripen completely on the tree. Bartletts reach "picking" maturity while still green in color. Fully ripened Yellow Bartletts are golden; Red Bartletts are crimson). The harvest date is set by sugar content levels and fruit firmness, both determined by special measuring devices.

After harvest, the pears are cooled in temperature-controlled storage. The temperature is slowly elevated as the fruit ripens. When fully ripe, the pears are washed, peeled, halved or sliced, trimmed and graded under rigorous quality control conditions. The cans are then filled with pears, liquid is added and the lids are sealed. Finally, the cans are processed in giant steam cookers. The canning liquid used may be heavy syrup, light syrup, water, fruit juice from concentrate, or natural pear juice.

* Why the Bartlett Pear?
* Growing and Processing
* Grades
* Sizes
* Storage