How do you ripen rock hard pears?

[Florence]

Hard enough to crack a floor tile when dropped...OK, I exagerate, but not much. I put them in a brown paper bag day before yesterday and they are still hard enough to break a tooth. What do you do to get these babies edible??:help:

[treehugger]

Do you have any apples? An apple in that paper bag with the unripe pears might help. It works for bananas and avocadoes anyway.

Kara

[Weston]

If I recall correctly, several years ago I watched a show on Food Network (I think it was Good Eats) that pointed out that peaches (like most fruits) do not ripen at all after they are picked. They will soften but not ripen.

[leslieann]

Peaches don't ripen but pears do. I have had luck with the brown paper bag and PATIENCE. However, there is a fine line between ripe and fodder for the fruit flies....mine ripened all at once and I had to make pear butter, though it wasn't what I'd planned.

The FLURRIES forecast for tonight suggest temperatures that mean I no longer have to think about fruit flies....but I do have to think about staying warm. Flurries.

But don't give up on the pears. They still might ripen.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Let them sit around. Seriously, it will happen.

[Florence]

Lord given me patience...and give it to me right now... OK, we wait.

[LionGail]

The Italian fruit shop lady where I used to buy fruit told me that pears ripen from the inside out and it does take a few days in a warmish spot. I love pears. :) Gail

[Florence]

Well, I ran out of patience, so I peeled and chopped them up and cooked them in last night's brown rice pilaf. They cooked up just right--not too hard, not too soft.