flatlander, I'd put them somewhere and wait. My pears don't ripen on the tree anyway, they always have to sit for a week or so to ripen.

Even if they don't ripen appreciably, they may get a bit less hard, and be easier to make sauce from. I sure wouldn't compost them.

Annie

Keep the Pears along with some ripe bananas in a container or paper bag and close it. If the Pears are near the ripening age you will get good results.

You could also take some of the less-ripe pears and grind them for a relish.

Here's an old Farm Journal recipe that uses hard winter pears. You can always count on country cooks to come up with ways to use everything.

Pear Relish

4 pounds firm winter pears (4 cups chopped)
3 cups 5% acid strength cider vinegar
3 cups sugar
2 T. canning/pickling salt
1 1/2 tsp. celery seeds
1 T. Allspice berries (optional)
6 medium onions, peeled (4 cups choppped)
15 large green peppers, seeded and stemmed (5 cups chopped)
4 hot red peppers, seeded and stemmed

Wash pears; peel, core and slice directly into salt water solution (1 T. salt to 1 qt. water) Note: could also use ascorbic acid crystals or Fruit Fresh

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and celery seeds in 5-qt. kettle. If desired add allspice tied in cheesecloth bag. Bring to boil.

Put pears, onions and peppers through food chopper; add to kettle. Simmer, uncovered, until onions and pears are translucent, about 40 minutes. Remove spice bag.

Ladle into 6 hot pint jars, pressing down as you pack so syrup covers relish. Fill to within 1/4" of jar top. Wip rim; adjust lids.

Process boiling water bath 15 minutes. Makes 6 pints.

I'm sure you could find lots of other Pear Relish recipes through a search if you're interested but would like different seasonings or combinations of vegetables.

Carol

Just got a new Ball Book this week and there's a very interesting recipe for pear mincemeat. Could work!

Don't compost!! I've had severed branches continue to ripen outside.

Unripe fruits are often good for pickling. There's an interesting recipe for pickled pears in The Joy of Pickling. It's too long for me to type out right now, but I imagine there are similar ones online.

I often get seriously unripe pears. I put them in a cardboard box in the store room where its dark and higher humidity than the normal desert around here, and they will very often ripen within two weeks. Not tremendous flavor, but we made a great batch of pear / mint jelly this summer with a bushel of so of them, and it still tastes like pears.

I composted the left-overs.