Virginia Gold Orchard's Asian Pears

When hot summer days start to shorten, the colors of the summer start to turn to the golden harvest of Asian pears. The month is August and the days are warm and the mornings become cool and crisp. At this time our Asian pears suddenly grow in size and flavor. Now the work in the orchard is easier when we grab a crisp, juicy pear right off of the tree and take a moment from our labors to enjoy the delicious flavor and refreshing juiciness.The bounty of our harvest continues as each different variety ripens until the last fruit is ready at the first frost.

Our tree ripened, hand-picked pears are grown without harsh, restricted-use synthetic chemicals insecticides and fungicides. The colors and marking are a result of being grown naturally in the warm Virginia sunshine. Each pear has been inspected at least three times during the growing season. Small and mis-shapen fruit are removed during the initial hand thinning and the follow-up thinnings. Ninety-five percent of the pollinated fruitletts have been removed before picking time arrives. When picking time comes, we remove the fruits' stems and again inspect them before packing them into trays and placing them into coolers. A final check is done when your fruit is packed into the box for your eating enjoyment.

Asian pears are best when tree ripened. The texture and sweetness that makes this fruit so wonderfully different comes in its last weeks on the tree. We pick your pears, ready-to-eat, when they are crisp and at the height of their sweetness. Asian pears can be kept ripe and ready to eat in your refrigerator's vegetable crisper for one month or more. However, they will ferment if you place them in a warm place like a window sill. Remember our pears are ready to eat when you take them out of the box.