As temperatures rise and the days become longer, a wider range of will come into season in the UK, with strawberries, plums and peaches among the country's produce. A popular late-summer fruit that can usually be plucked off trees from August onwards is pears, although the crisp and juicy snack can easily be eaten under- or overripe. Unlike many other fruits, pears ripen from the inside out, meaning that by the time they're soft to the touch, they could already be mealy and unappealing.

Experts at Stemilt Growers have offered top storage tips to ensure perfectly ripe pears, including leaving them at room temperature to induce ripening and putting them next to bananas and , which release a naturally occurring gas called ethylene as they become ripe. It's always advisable to eat pears within a few days of buying them, they added, and storing them in a brown paper bag can also help to trap pear-produced ethylene, which converts starch to sugar, softening the fruit and changing its colour and flavour.

"Growers harvest pears once they are mature, but in the pear world, maturity means the fruit is not fully ripened," Stemilt marketing director Brianna Shales said.

"If growers allowed pears to ripen on the tree, the core of the fruit would breakdown. This causes an unappetising mushy or mealy texture when they arrive at grocery stores."

"Ripening a pear can be tricky due to the fact that most pears do not change colour as they ripen, and pears are typically close to - but not quite ripe - when you purchase them at the store," she added.

"If the pears you brought home from the store are still a little hard and not quite ripe, you can try softening them in a bag at room temperature. Cold temperatures slow down the ripening process, so storing ripe pears in the fridge is the best way to maintain quality.

"Like bananas and avocados, pears naturally release ethylene gas (a ripening hormone) as they ripen. Placing the pears in a brown paper bag keeps ethylene close to the fruit and speeds up ripening.

"Any bag would work, but paper is preferred over plastic as it allows the fruit to breathe."