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Pyrus pyrifolia·East Asia
Also known as: Asian pear, apple pear
Round like an apple, snap-crisp like a water-rich pear, with a juice content that surprises everyone the first time. Mild floral sweetness, no graininess, no ripening waiting game — nashi is firm when it's at its best. Eat cold, unpeeled, or pair with blue cheese and a thin slice of prosciutto.
The nashi pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) is the Japanese-Korean Asian pear — round, golden-brown, russet-skinned, with a snap-crisp white flesh that holds far more juice than a European pear has any right to.
Unlike Bartlett or Conference pears, nashi doesn't soften as it ripens. It's at its best firm, with a clean apple-like crunch and a gentle floral sweetness that sits closer to a green melon than to a Western pear. There's no graininess, no waiting for it to give to pressure — what you buy is what you eat.
Serve cold, unpeeled. Slice into salads with bitter leaves and walnut, pair with strong cheeses (a Stilton or a Roquefort works beautifully), or simply quarter and eat out of hand. The skin is thin and edible. Stores in the fridge for up to two weeks.
