THIS week at Cultivate we’ve been kicking off our Bring the Harvest Home campaign by celebrating a fruit that I have to admit had previously fallen off my radar, the humble pear. Currently at their seasonal peak, we’ve just received our delivery from Waterperry Gardens. Rather aptly named, as perry means pear.

Perhaps one of the reasons I’d overlooked this fruit is down to past experience. I would always either get something rock solid, under-ripe and under-flavoured or a pile of mush that’s impossible to eat. I’ve now learnt that it can be tricky to get the perfect pear because they ripen from the inside out so you can’t always spot when they’re ready. Apparently the best way to determine their ripeness is to avoid giving them a squeeze and be guided by your nose instead. It may sound obvious but when they start to smell like pears they’ll taste like pears. If in doubt, applying a very small amount of pressure to the stem end of the pear will let you know what’s going on inside.

My previous negative experience may have also been down to eating out of UK season: despite previously being one of the most important parts of British horticulture, the pears we buy now are more likely to have been grown abroad and therefore refrigerated and freighted. Refrigeration may keep the pears from ripening but it kills a lot of the subtle flavours which makes this fruit so tasty.

Get the right pear and it’s a decadent experience: fragrant, sweet and melt-in-the-mouth, their soft flesh is highly digestible which is why it’s often recommended as a baby’s first food. But it has taken me eating the local in-season varieties from Waterperry to truly appreciate this. Now I can’t be stopped and I’ve got quite a few pear recipes bookmarked to try through the next month. Pureed, poached, baked, wrapped in pastry or popped in a salad with Stilton and walnut, each option has my mouth watering.

Even if I never get around to producing these dishes I now know I can enjoy a perfectly ripe local pear all on its own.