Asian pears: eating and growing. Experiences and thoughts, please

[clarkinks]

Mamuang,
Drippin Honey are very good Asian pears. They are sweet, crisp, and relatively hardy. If I recommended a variety it would be them! Korean Giant seems to be a stronger grower at my location. I have not tasted KG yet but they seem like they will be very good.

[mamuang]

This year everything seems to ripen almost two weeks earlier. My KG could be ready before the end of Sept instead of some time in Oct.

[Z9gardener]

I definitely have Chicago hardy for you.

Thanks! I’d better continue to improve on my cutting rooting skill.

[scottfsmith]

I didn’t have such good KG this year, not sure why. I had too much rot and the ones I did have were not consistently flavorful. Last year they were really good.

Drippin Honey was fine, but they were extremely popular with the hornets due to being very soft-skinned (and soft in general). They have a somewhat different taste than the other asians which is nice, but I prefer the more strongly flavored ones.

Kosui was probably my favorite this year, it has been very reliable and very flavorful year after year.

Meigetsu I got a few nice pears from. They are good keepers with a nice butterscotch flavor when fully ripe.

Shin-Li are just starting to ripen now, I like how they are really late. They are more mild-flavored and keep really well.

[mamuang]

First real harvest of Asian pears, Korean Giant. I did not thin well so too many smaller ones.

[clarkinks]

Nice looking pears Mamuang!

[mamuang]

@clarkinks, thank you.

This is the first year I bagged KG pears because They were damaged a great deal by BMSB last year.

I chose the wrong year to bag. We had a drought. It was hot and dry in the summer. I could see that many pears in the bags turned orange color in the intense heat. I fear they would be cooked inside the bags so about 3 weeks ago, I took most bags out.

The pears with darker orange color sustained heat damage. That area ( faced the sun) became soft and leathery. It tasted that way, too, instead of crunchy.

[tomIL]

Your KG is almost a pound a piece, I’m so looking forward to some from my trees!

This year, I have very sizable Hosui and 20th Century but Shinko is rather small due to my bad thinning! I think I like the 20th Century more due to its sweetness and juiciness, combines with thin skin. I’ll have some Shinseiki woods too if you need more.

Tom

[subdood_ky_z6b]

Our pears were just planted this year, so we obviously won’t have any of our own for a few years. But we did try some AP’s at the orchard we’ve visited recently. The Kosui they had were very bland and almost mealy, not a pleasant experience. They also had Korean Giant, and those had better pear flavor than the Kosui, but they were pretty gritty. Is that the norm for a KG?

[mamuang]

Subdood,
KG that I have had are not gritty. They are sweet, juicy and crunchy. The ones we ate this evening had the brix of 17 but I am not sure if my reflectometer was working correctly

@tomIL, I definitely will ask for your Shinseiki scoinwood this winter.

From what you and Subdood said about those varieties, it makes me think that Asian pears’s quality differ so much from one climate to another.

One factor I believe, contributes to its quality is the age of the tree. My first two years of Hosui fruiting was awful, bland and small. This year Hosui is very good, better than 20th Century.

[tomIL]

Mamuang,

I agree about giving them sometimes to mature into their true goodness. I used to dislike the 20th Century in the past 2-3 years until this year. The fruits from this year are really sweet with the right amount of crunchiness (for me). I think my Hosui is a bit drier than I want when I bite in. I guess tastiness is a very personal preference!

I’ll make sure I save some scions woods for you!

Tom

[mamuang]

For those of you who hesitate to thin your pears,I would like to show you the difference in sizes of well thinned and no thinned 20th Century pears.

The unthinned typically weigh about 3.0-3.5 oz. The well- thinned weigh about 5.0-6.0 oz. In addition to size, thinning will improve eating qpuality and prevent branch breakage, too.

[mamuang]

I thinned my pears quite well this year. Both 20th Century and Hosui were well thinned and weigh about 5.0 -6.0 oz.

Hosui is sweeter with brix at 15. Flesh is soft, melting.
20th Century is milder at around 12-13 brix. Flesh is crunchy and juicier.

Since I like crunchy A pears, I prefer 20th C over Hosui.

I also thinned Korean Giant well. I see some of them getting closer to a lb on the tree. Hopefully, Squirrels would not get to them before I could. KG is a late pear. I pick them in Oct.

[luxin]

If you like Asian pears, you should try the common Kieffer pear! It’s a suspected cross between a Chinese sand pear and a European Barlett. Although routinely “reserved” only as a “cooking” pear due to its hardness…it’s actually my favorite pear precisely DUE to its hard, crispy, crunchy, gritty, watery flesh! It’s rather similar to an Asian pear, but a bit grittier and harder…

Just note that to get a Kieffer pear, you’ll probably have to either find some at a farmer’s market or grow some yourself! As they are not deemed “commercially viable” for being merely “cooking” pears. And so no grocery stores carry them.

Well to each their own…but European pears are comparatively too mushy and bruise too easily for me!

[mamuang]

Thank you for the suggestion. I’ve read enough about Kieffer and, at this point. I’ll pass.

[bleedingdirt]

Very poor thinning this year has resulted in small fruits. But they taste great nonetheless!

[Auburn]

it’s actually my favorite pear precisely DUE to its hard, crispy, crunchy, gritty, watery flesh!

If you like Kieffer you might want to try the Orient pear. A few of us forum members like these pears. I grew up eating them so they are what seems normal to me. With that said I like all pears and I’m excited about several other varieties that I have grafted but have yet to fruit. The Kieffer and Orient thrive in my area with very little care.

[galinas]

To leave size out of the equation (I am not a big fun of large fruit), are tinned ones better/sweeter/more juicy than not tinned ones? If you are about to choose between 4 small ones and 1 big for the same price in the store, which one you choose?

[mamuang]

Generally speaking, 4 small ones don’t taste as good as one big one. This is especially true with peaches. Unthinned peaches don’t taste as good. A tree spends too much energy feeding hundred of small fruit instead of concentrating in half the number.

Also, with smal fruit, so much waste on skin, seeds/pits, etc. than actual flesh.

I am not talking about growers who sizing up their fruit by watering so they have large, attractive fruit that taste diluted.

I am suspecious of large fruit selling in supermarkets. Are they large because of proper thinning or adding water? I think it’s more of the latter.

[luxin]

Orient is a large, excellent, flesh-quality pear. The tree has the best fire blight resistance. It holds its leaves well into the fall and is a reliable producer. The chilling requirement is low and can be grown in areas ranging from 400 to 1200 hours. This tree normally bears after 4 years and is self-sterile.

Sounds great and I’d love to try one…but these are all just hard to find anywhere, unless you grow them yourself! Commercial grocers are all overdominated by European pears, with rarely an Asian pear, much less any Eurasian hybrids (Kieffer, Orient, etc)…

So, unless you grow them yourself - I think your only hope of finding some of these Eurasian hybrids is from a farmer’s market or neighbor…