4 Reasons Pears Are the Perfect Fruit for Fall

Are you looking forward to fall as much as we are? With each new season comes new, in-season fruits, and we’re eager for the arrival of one of our favorites: the Pear.

When it comes to fall fruits, apples may spring first to your mind (along with pumpkins and squash, which are, botanically speaking, fruits, not vegetables). But while you’re planning for apple crisps, pumpkin pies, and butternut squash soup, don’t forget about the many varieties of pear and all their benefits! Attractive and delicious, Pears are one of our most popular fall gifts, whether our customers plan to use them in fall arrangements, send them to loved ones as gifts, or lay in a supply for themselves.

A fresh pear makes a wonderful snack – but that’s not the only thing that makes pears so great. Read on for our top 5 reasons why pears are the perfect fall fruit:

1. Pears may help keep you from getting sick – and/or help you recover faster if you do get sick.

From the common cold to COVID-19, colder weather usually brings with it a host of ailments that can inconvenience you at best or make you dangerously ill at worst. That’s because many flu and cold viruses thrive in colder weather, and with people spending more time indoors, germs are easier to spread from person to person. Plus, exposure to frigid temperatures can lower your immune system.

Pears often get overshadowed by the apple (the fruit that reportedly keeps the doctor away), but they’re every bit as much of a nutritional powerhouse. In fact, fresh pears contain even more fiber than apples, as well as lots of vitamins C, B, and K. Pears are also rich in potassium, iron, and folate, and contain beneficial antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that can bolster your immune system, keep your digestive system running smoothly, and improve your skin’s health. Speaking of skins, the skin of a pear contains lots of pectin, a type of soluble fiber that feeds the friendly bacteria in the gut.

Fruits Facts: Pear Nutrition At a Glance:

A medium-sized pear (about 5 oz.) from your pear fruit basket typically has about:

• 100 calories
• 3 g fat
• 27 g carbohydrates
• 17 g sugars
• 8 mg sodium
• High amounts of Vitamins C, K, minerals and antioxidants

2. Pears taste better (and are better for you) during the fall.

Depending on the variety, pear season in the US starts in September and runs through December. You may have heard it said that fruits and veggies taste best and are at their most nutritious when they’re in season. This is true – which is why the pears you’ll find in the grocery store in, say, May, don’t taste quite as good as the ones you’ll find in October. Unless they’re from a climate where they’re in season (in which case they’ll have spent a long time traveling and won’t be as fresh), off-season pears are really just last season’s pears that have been overwintered in a temperature-controlled, low-oxygen environment to keep them from ripening.

They’re not bad for you, of course – they just don’t have that oh-so-fresh, just-picked flavor we prize so much at Pittman & Davis. This is precisely why we only offer in-season fruit from mature trees – so you get that farm-to-table flavor we ourselves love so much. When your order of pears arrives from us, you can rest assured that they were picked within days of you ordering them, and shipped right to you without spending any time in a storage facility. That way, you’re always sure to get the best flavor and most nutrients available.

3. Pears are every bit as delicious as apples when used in fall baking.

When it’s too chilly to leave the windows open, the smell of a baking pie is often a more than adequate substitute for a fresh breeze! When autumn’s in the air, the thoughts of many turn to freshly baked apple pie, but pear pie, redolent with cinnamon, is every bit as enticing – and a unique addition to a Thanksgiving dessert table.

When it comes to baking with pears, the sky is the limit…pears work well in cakes, cookies, pies, cobblers, muffins…even donuts. In fact, any recipe that calls for apples usually works equally well with pears!

Here are a few ideas for using pears in your fall baking:

• Chocolate Pear Muffins
• Pear Upside-Down Cake
• Pear Cobbler
• Apple-Pear Crisp with Peanut Butter
• Pear Rosemary Danish

4. Pears can add fresh flavor to your meals even after your summer garden has been put to bed.

If you love adding fresh, in-season fruits and veggies from your garden or the local farmer’s market to your meals, fall may seem like a sad time for you. It doesn’t have to, though…fresh, yummy Pittman & Davis Pears can be used in a variety of applications in addition to baking.

Miss having fresh berries in your morning cereal, yogurt or smoothie? Chopped fresh pears are just as good. Does adding fresh tomato slices to your sandwiches make them pop with flavor? Sliced pears make a great addition to salads, sandwiches, soups, and charcuterie boards.

As long as pears are in season, freshness doesn’t have to end when fall comes! Get creative, or try one of the following recipes…

…for breakfast: Maple, Pear and Pecan Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
…for lunch: Pear & Bacon Grilled Cheese Sandwich
…for salads: Tangy Pear & Blue Cheese Salad
…for dinner: Grilled Pork Chops with Spiced Pears
…for dessert: Maple Walnut Baked Pears
…for a snack: Slow-Roasted Pear Chips
…for cocktails: Apple & Pear White Sangria