Fruit Ripening Guide
See when local fruits are at their peak! Select a fruit in the guide below to learn how to tell when fruit is ripe and ready to harvest.
Sweet cherries
When are they ripe?
- Early June to late July
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: deep red
- Feel & texture: smooth round shape that is about the size of a quarter or larger
- Taste & smell: juicy and sweet
- Underripe if: colour is not bright (still pink or orange), hard to the touch, the pit and flesh stays attached to the stem when picked
- Over ripe if: soft and mushy, wrinkled skin, or flesh is leaking juice
Photo by AS Photography (source)
Sour cherries
When are they ripe?
- Mid-June to Late July
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: red-orange, for some varieties they can be purple or dark red
- Feel & texture: smooth round shape that is about the size of a quarter or larger
- Taste & smell: juicy and sour
- Underripe if: colour is not bright (still pink or orange), hard to the touch, the pit and flesh stays attached to the stem when picked
- Over ripe if: soft and mushy, wrinkled skin, or flesh is leaking juice
Serviceberries
When are they ripe?
- Mid-June to mid-July
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: the darker the colour of the fruit, the higher sugar content, so a dark purple berry will taste much sweeter than a red one. Berries will be very dark red, purple, and/or blue.
- Feel & texture: berries should pull/detach easily from the tree
- Taste & smell: berries will taste sweet
- Underripe if: bright red or white
- Over ripe if: mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
Mulberries
When are they ripe?
- Late June to early August
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: red or hybrid mulberries turn a dark purplish black colour when they’re ready to harvest, and white mulberries will be a white or golden colour
- Feel & texture: juicy
- Taste & smell: sweet
- Underripe if: very pale (white or green) in colour, not sweet
- Over ripe if: mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
Photo by Mark Belokopytov (source)
Plums
When are they ripe?
- Mid-July to early September
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: purple, blue, green, yellow and/or red when fully ripe. May have bloom (white, powdery substance) on the skin (which is a harmless fungus that feeds on the fruit’s sugars)
- Feel & texture: soft
- Taste & smell: can be sweet or tart
- Underripe if: hard to the touch, not sweet to taste
- Over ripe if: mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
Apples
When are they ripe?
- Late July to late October
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: red, yellow, green, or a combination of colours
- Feel & texture: hard to the touch, crisp and juicy inside
- Taste & smell: flavour is sweet and sour
- Underripe if: difficult to remove or twist from the tree, small in size (less than 2 inches diameter), seeds are still white/light in colour
- Over ripe if: flesh is brown or mushy
Pears
When are they ripe?
- Mid-August to late September
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: Most common European pear varieties will appear green, but the colour will soften and may take on brown or yellow hues as the fruit ripens. If the seeds are brown, the pear is ready to eat. If seeds are white, the pear is not mature.
- Feel & texture: Pears should be picked when mature (full size), but not ripe (not soft). They should be firm but have the slightest amount of give when squeezed.
- Taste & smell: Sweet/tart taste (after ripening off-tree)
- Underripe if: small in size; lacks flavour; coarse, dry texture
- Over ripe: if mushy or gritty internal texture
Grapes
When are they ripe?
- Mid-August to mid-September
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: green, light purple, or dark purple. There may be white dust on the skin. Grapes start off green and will often change colour before they are ripe. Ripe green grapes will appear more translucent with brown seeds.
- Feel & texture: juicy, easy to crush or tear with your fingers
- Taste & smell: taste sweet rather than tart
- Underripe if: seeds are not brown or green in colour, very sour or astringent, pulp remains on stalk when detaching single grape
- Over ripe if: mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh (source)
Elderberries
When are they ripe?
- Mid-August to mid-September
Ripeness checklist:
- Colour: deep purple to black colour
- Feel & texture: berries produce dark purple juice when squeezed
- Taste & smell: not applicable – raw elderberry is toxic, and tasting berries or berry juice should be used to indicate ripeness
- Underripe if: green skin, juice is pale and watery when squeezed
- Over ripe if: mushy, wrinkled, or discoloured
This guide was developed with reference to Not Far From The Tree.