Asian Pears Find a New Home in Pennsylvania

 

Gift Pack of Asian Pears by Subarashii Kudamono  Courtesy Photo

    You’ve probably seen Asian pears in the grocery store but may never have thought to try them. They’re not a commonly well-known fruit, but that’s going to change if a grower in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley has anything to do with it.

    Joel Spira, successful inventor of the electronic dimmer and founder of Lutron Electronics Co., first tasted Asian Pear varieties in Japan in the 1970’s. So enchanted with the fruit, he brought back some of the seeds and grew them into Asian Pear trees in his own Pennsylvania backyard.

    Working with experts in the U.S. and abroad, the Spiras began their own orchard in the Lehigh Valley. Spira’s wife, Ruth Rodale Spira, a trained botanist, diversified the Asian Pear trees into American-style varieties, further evolving the Asian Pears into what the growers call Subarashii Kudamono,  Japanese for “wonderful fruit."

    Writing in Bon Appetit, Nina Moskowitz asks "What is an Asian pear?” She then answers her own question with "Take a Honey Crisp apple. Now make it larger in size and flavor, a touch crisper, with a syrupier nectar, and some extra floral notes. This is an Asian pear, and nothing tastes quite like it.”

    In the supermarkets, you can sometimes find the delicious fruit nested in plastic white mesh baskets to protect the delicate fruit from bruising. At the moment, however, Subarashii Kudamono is offering its unique fresh fruit gift boxes directly to consumers this holiday season. A curated selection of hand-picked, hand-packed Asian Pear varieties including LilySan, AnaSan, EliSan, New Pear, and JunoSan, are now available in beautifully packaged gift boxes on the Subarashii Kudamono website at www.wonderfulfruit.com.    

    Subarashii pears are picked at the perfect moment with the intention of being delivered at peak ripeness for optimal flavor and texture. Subarashii also offers great stocking stuffer or hostess gift options: an array of Asian Pear-based products including dried fruit, spreads, and aged vinegar.

Gift box options include:

    Fruit du Jour: Sweet, incredibly juicy, crisp, and flavorful Asian Pears, hand-picked from the orchard’s beautiful Asian Pear trees. ($26.95-$59.95, depending on box size)

    Artisan’s Choice: A singular expression of the orchard's exclusive patented varieties of gourmet Asian Pears are hand-selected and packed not only for you but for the special person with whom you wish to share this wonderful gift. ($26.95-$59.95, depending on box size)

    Exclusive Variety Gift Collection: The Asian Pear enthusiast's dream gift - a sampler collection featuring several individual varieties of these special Asian Pears. ($39.95 for box of 7 pears).

A Mix of Asian Pear Products Make a Wonderful Gift Courtesy Photo

    The Chef Box: Indulge yourself with the finest ingredients from the orchard, beloved by chefs nationwide. Box includes 3 petite Asian pears, a 375 ml bottle of aged Asian Pear vinegar, a jar of Asian Pear spread and a 3 oz. package of dried Asian Pears ($39.95).

Asian Pears Tucked in Protective Packaging to Prevent Bruising and Damage Courtesy Photo

    This week, I tried a box of seven carefully packaged Asian pears from Subarashii Kudamono. All were wrapped in bright red tissue paper, the perfect color for the holiday season. I was surprised to see how large the Asian pears are, smaller than a grapefruit but larger than a regular pear or apple. Each pear rests in a soft material in a hole cut to completely protect them from jarring and bruising. A layer of the same soft material laid over the pears gives them added protection.

    Once the Asian pears arrive, you should keep them in the refrigerator, where they will keep for at least a month. Just before eating them either whole or in slices, the growers recommend that you first wash them.

    Because the product is tree-ripened and ready to eat, there’ no need to table ripen them before consuming them. They are best served cold and crisp.

    My package of seven pears included three New Pears, two Lily Sans and two Ana Sans. The new pears had the lighter flavor and were crisp and juicy; the Ana Sans were sweeter and more floral with the Lily Sans holding the middle ground of sweetness.

Salad with Sweet and Crunchy Asian Pears Courtesy Photo

    I tried dicing one of the pears in a salad, which added both sweetness and a crisp texture. I also tried one of the two recipes that came with my package, the Ginger Prosciutto Asian Pear Bites. The recipe is as follows:

    Ingredients:

    1 inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced into thin coins

    1 fresh, large Subarashii Kudamono Asian Pear

    1/8 cup of water

    ¼ cup of sugar

    ¼ cup of dry white wine

    3 oz. sliced prosciutto

    Combine the ginger, water, wine and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer 15 minutes. Remove syrup mixture from heat and let cool. Slice each piece of prosciutto lengthwise into thirds. Peel and core the pear and slice into ½ inch wedges. Brush each wedge on all sides with the ginger syrup, the wrap the lower half of the pear slice with one strip of prosciutto. Arrange on a platter and enjoy.

    Many more recipes are available on the grower’s website www.wonderfulfruit.com. as are an extensive assortment of gift box options.