Russetted Asian pears change from green to brown to orange or gold. Yellow-fruited varieties change from grass green to light green to yellow green. Fruit finish is another means of judging maturity. For D'Anjou and Bartlett, look for smooth, waxy skin. As the fruit matures, corking of the lenticels is related to fruit maturity.
Immature fruit has white lenticels that become brown and shallow.
The brown color in lenticels is a good indicator that the fruit will ripen without shriveling. Other methods Amount of soluble solids is often not a good indicator of maturity in traditional varieties because of the need to harvest the fruit before it is ripe. A minimum of 11 percent for Bartlett and of 10 percent for all other varieties except Asian pears is recommended. For Asian pears, a starting point is 12 percent. As the fruit matures starch is converted to sugars.