Conference pears are medium to large in size and have a narrow, rounded base that tapers to a long and thin neck connecting to a green-brown stem.
The mottled, thick skin is green with patches of brown russeting and transforms into a pale yellow when ripe.
The flesh is ivory to cream-colored, sometimes with a pink tinge, and has a fine-grained, soft, and moist texture.
When ripe, conference pears are crisp and juicy with a melting consistency and have a sweet flavor with subtle notes of perfume.
Conference pears are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as baking, roasting, and poaching.
They can be served fresh out-of-hand in leafy green salads, in fruit salads, sliced on top of pancakes, oatmeal, and pudding, or displayed on a cheese plate.
Conference pears can also be poached in wine and citrus zest or simple syrup, baked on a pizza, blended in smoothies with ginger, roasted in warm spices, or baked in a tart or cheesecake.
Conference pears compliment walnuts, almonds, pecans, ginger, garlic, onion, smoked fish, bacon, ham, blue cheese, and kale.
These pears need time to ripen and can be placed on the counter for up to 3-4 weeks.
Conference pears can also be stored up to two months in the refrigerator.
