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\\u201cThe human element that\\u2019s behind each and every pear that makes it to market is really amazing and profound.\\u201d\\xa0

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Lori Taylor (17:55-18:02)

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What other fruit is as elegant as a pear, but yet approachable and available year round? Slicing up a pear will dress up any cocktail party charcuterie board or help fill your kids lunchboxes with a nutritious treat. These fruits are still harvested, packed, and sent to market with a remarkable amount of human touch.

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Erica Bland is a fourth generation pear grower who\\u2019s been helping run her family\\u2019s Washington farm for nine years, and leasing her own orchards for four. You might know Washington state for their apples and cherries, but pears? Yes, the Pacific Northwest is great for pears because of the region specifically in the middle of Washington and Oregon state. The east is too dry, the west is too wet, but the middle is a sweet spot filled with rich, volcanic soil, cool nights and warm days, and just the right amount of rain, making it optimal for growing this delicious fruit.\\xa0

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\\u201cYou want someone to bite into that pear and say, \\u2018oh my gosh, I love it! I\\u2019ve got juice on my face and it\\u2019s sticky\\u2026\\u2019, that\\u2019s what you want and you work for that day-in and day-out, year-round.\\u201d Erica Bland (27:07-27:18)

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Growing pears is an ever-changing gamble! Crop cycles start in the fall, and although harvest always goes through August and September, you never know when it\\u2019s actually going to start. The harvest goes much longer than you\\u2019d typically expect and also depends on the varieties and bin counts. Erica\\u2019s farm grows three types of pears: Bartlett, d\'Anjou and Golden Russet Bosc, although there are ten varieties of pears available in the US.

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What\\u2019s more interesting about the pear growing process is the thinning of trees. You might think you want to keep as much fruit as possible on the tree as they grow, but with pear trees, heavy thinning is necessary as soon as the pears are about the size of a silver dollar. You want to keep the pears 10-12 inches apart, otherwise, some pears grow together in clusters and will never get big enough. That, or the branch gets too heavy and they block the sun necessary to grow.

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So what do growers do with pears that aren\\u2019t big enough or meeting retailer specs? Sometimes they go to school lunches (if they\\u2019re on the smaller side) or juicers.\\xa0

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When it comes time to harvest, it\\u2019s a gamble! Erica says, \\u201cyou need to be ready to rock and roll when the field men come out and say you need to start picking\\u201d, which can be at any time. All pears are hand picked and the only equipment involved in the field are tractors that pick up the bins of fruit and stack them for the trucks to pick up.

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Did you know pears grown in the states of Oregon and Washington make up around 87 percent of the US fresh pear supply?\\xa0

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From the field to the packing shed or warehouse, pears are hand selected and wrapped in tissue before heading out to retailers, which happens on the same day! For as fast of a turnaround as that is, pears are beautiful, elegant fruit that require a lot of patience\\u2026patience that is worth every juicy, sweet, refreshing bite.

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The reason pears aren\\u2019t always ripe and ready to eat when you buy them at the store is because you can\\u2019t ship soft fruit. They would go bad and bruise before they hit the produce aisle. If you want to know when your pear is ripe and ready to eat at home, just apply a small amount of pressure using your thumb at the neck of the pear and if it yields to slight pressure, it\\u2019s ready to enjoy! Plus, they really look beautiful in a decorative bowl in the center of a table while you wait for them to ripen.

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\\u201cWe care so much about it. We care about our crew, we care about our fruit, we care about our consumers and getting the good fruit out there. It\\u2019s a passion and it\\u2019s something you pride yourself on and it\\u2019s worth waking up for every day!\\u201d Erica Bland (20:48-21:04)

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What\\u2019s Erica\'s favorite way to enjoy her family\\u2019s pears? Pear pie! Although she\\u2019s not a huge fruit pie fan, this family recipe passed down from her mom\\u2019s aunt gets her every time. Feel free to reach out to her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/e_bland and she\\u2019ll give you the recipe!

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Neil\\u2019s favorite way to enjoy pears happens to be on pizza! Maybe you\\u2019ve seen this at restaurants and have hesitated to try it, or maybe you\\u2019ve never even thought of this innovative way to enjoy the fruit. Because the sweetness isn\\u2019t overwhelming, there are tons of ways to enjoy pear on pizza. Next time you make one at home or order out, try pears with gorgonzola and walnuts or prosciutto as your topping.

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How to get involved

• Join The Produce Moms Group on Facebook and continue the discussion every week!\\xa0
• Reach out to us - we\\u2019d love to hear more about where you are in life and business! Find out more here.\\xa0

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