Merit: 'Beth' ’Beurré Hardy’ ’Beurré Superfin’ 'Concorde' 'Conference' ’Doyenné du Comice’ 'Joséphine de Malines' The purely decorative cultivar P. salicifolia ‘Pendula’, with pendulous branches and silvery leaves, has also won the award. Harvest Summer and autumn cultivars of Pyrus communis, being climacteric fruits, are gathered before they are fully ripe, while they are still green, but snap off when lifted. In the case of the 'Passe Crassane', long the favored winter pear in France, the crop is traditionally gathered at three different times: the first a fortnight or more before it is ripe, the second a week or ten days after that, and the third when fully ripe. The first gathering will come into eating last, and thus the season of the fruit may be considerably prolonged. Diseases and pests Production In 2020, world production of pears was 23.1 million tonnes, led by China with 69% of the total (table). About 48% of the Southern Hemisphere's pears are produced in the Patagonian valley of Río Negro in Argentina. Storage Pears may be stored at room temperature until ripe. Pears are ripe when the flesh around the stem gives to gentle pressure. Ripe pears are optimally stored refrigerated, uncovered in a single layer, where they have a shelf life of 2 to 3 days. Pears ripen at room temperature. Ripening is accelerated by the gas ethylene. If pears are placed next to bananas in a fruit bowl, the ethylene emitted by the banana causes the pears to ripen. Refrigeration will slow further ripening. According to Pear Bureau Northwest, most varieties show little color change as they ripen (though the skin on Bartlett pears changes from green to yellow as they ripen). Uses Cooking Pears are consumed fresh, canned, as juice, and dried. The juice can also be used in jellies and jams, usually in combination with other fruits, including berries. Fermented pear juice is called perry or pear cider and is made in a way that is similar to how cider is made from apples. Perry can be distilled to produce an eau de vie de poire, a colorless, unsweetened fruit brandy. Pear purée is used to manufacture snack foods such as Fruit by the Foot and Fruit Roll-Ups. The culinary or cooking pear is green but dry and hard, and only edible after several hours of cooking. Two Dutch cultivars are "" (a sweet variety) and "" (slightly sour). Timber