With the perfect flavour profile that lends itself to both sweet and savoury products, pears are one of those fruits that are easy to work with. Baking Business spoke with Selim Shaholli from Shaholli Orchards in Shepparton, Victoria, to hear about what it takes to get a pear from the tree and into the kitchen.

Can you tell me about Shaholli Orchards? Where are you located, and what’s the farm’s history?

Our family farm is located in Shepparton Victoria, where we grow and pack our own fruit. My grandfather migrated to Australia from Albania in 1937 and he bought this property in 1958. We’ve been running the farm since then and now grow a range of different varieties of fruit for the fresh market.

What does an average day look like at Shaholli Orchards?

There are a lot of jobs to do on the farm. A nice way to look at it is that every season has its jobs. Starting off in the winter, that’s when we’re pruning the trees – so shaping them for the new season fruit. During the winter is when we do most our packing of the pears and apples. In springtime, when the flowers come out, we’re spraying and maintaining the farm. Then summer and autumn is when we harvest the fruit. This is our busiest period; when we’re harvesting the fruit and putting it away in cold storage and packing seasonal varieties.

The pear trees at Shaholli Orchards

Can you take us through the pear production process? When is the growing season? What kind of varieties do you grow?

We grow four different varieties: Corella, William, Packham, and Beurre Bosc. The growing season starts from October when the trees flower up until harvest in February. There are a few factors when we harvest, from the size of the fruit, to the sugar content.  When these metrics are reached, there’ s a one to two week phase which is the optimal time to pick them that helps with your long term storage. To help with this we put a plastic film over the top of the bin of pears, similar to glad wrap in a fridge, to help keep the pears fresh.

What does harvesting look like?

It’s very tough work, as everything is hand-picked. There is a bit of technique as pears need to be picked with the stem on and carefully placed in picking bags and then emptied into large bins. If the stem comes out, pears will shrivel up or rot away and if you’re not careful they can easily bruise.

Australia’s pear industry has seen something like 10 per cent of the trees uprooted since 2023. What have the past few years looked like for Shaholli Orchards?

We’ve pulled out a few pear trees ourselves in the past year. It’s a combination of poor quality fruit and rising costs. Pear trees do have a lifespan and once they begin to get too old, the quality and yields both drop. Then combine that with increasing costs for all our inputs and marginal returns – it just doesn’t remain viable.

Selim’s father, Riza, pruning the trees

What does that look like for Shaholli Orchards? Have you brought in other pear varieties or broadened to other fruit trees?

We’ve been looking at other varieties to take their place, which will have higher yields or higher returns. A pear tree isn’t that easy to replace. If you plant it today, you won’t really see any good quality fruit on it for maybe seven to 10 years.

The good thing about pears is that they can keep producing fruit for decades. There are some trees nearing 80-years-old that my grandfather planted  that we still grow today.

We still grow a lot of pears but have broadened to growing apples and some stone fruit varieties.

Pears are one of those fantastic items that work well with both sweet and savoury flavours. Is there anything bakers should think about when working with pears?

When cooking with pears it’s best to not be fussy. You’re not going to find the perfectly shaped pear. One thing we advocate for is if it’s on the shelf don’t worry too much about the skin texture. You can peel it and it’s just as sweet on the inside.

If you’re looking for something a bit more sweet, then try the Beurre Bosc or Corella pears.  If baking with other varieties, leave them on the bench for a few days to ripen up which brings out more sweetness. Crunchy or soft they are great to cook with!