Pai Li Asian pear is a keeper. The size of a small apple but an elegant looking pear. It tastes very sweet and excellent for fresh eating out of hand. Very popular in some regions of China. The scion was from USDA 6 years ago.
Tony
Tony its beautiful and just the right size to take with you for lunch!
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How do these compare to other yellowish Asian pears like nijiseiki or shinseiki if you have those too? Your tree looks very productive!
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Pai Li fruit is a little smaller than the two you mentioned but much more crunchier and sweeter. Something different to have and that is why I bark grafted about 10 plus Asian pear varieties to spread out the harvest.
Tony
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Pai Li sounds very interesting.
Just ate my first Shinseiki. It is not fully ripe but it fooled me by very yellow skin. Even not ripe (seeds not yet brown), it was sweet, juicy and slightly larger than 20th Century (Nijisseiki). I like it more than 20th Century.
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Andrew,
Have you try to grow Yali. The Asian Market usually carried Yali and Fragrant pear. I liked them both. I just bark grafted a few scions of Yulu Fragrant pear and hopefully I like the fruit in about 2 to 3 years.
Tony
Yali
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Very nice Tony! Pai Li Look very good!
Hi Tony,
I’ve tried the Ya Li before but they were rather watery and flavorless. It could have just been a bad batch. They were grown in California and green skinned. My favorite varieties that I can get from the nearby Chinatown are Fragrant pear and Shin Li. I planted a Shin Li tree this year, and hope to get some fruit in a couple of years. No source for Fragrant pear trees that I can find, but are there different strains of Fragrant pear? The boxes they get shipped in just call them xinjiang xiang li (fragrant pears from a province in China called Xinjiang).
@PharmerDrewee
Andrew,
Yali does not have a strong pronounced flavor but rather it’s lite and refreshing which I enjoyed a great deal. In my opinion It’s not in anyway similar to European pear flavor but it’s still sweet and pleasant. Many people look for a strong flavor to wow them but yali is not like that. Cannot wait to try Pai Li.
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I’ll have to get some at the market to try again this year. It’s Asian pear galore; they sell by the boxful at $10-15. You’re right, the flavor is way different than say a Hosui. It reminds me of some other non-russeted pears like nijisseiki or kaori.
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Update on the Pai Li, imo it is the best yellow Asian pear out there. It is sweeter than the rest, juicy, crisp and light almost like Yali or Fragrant Asian pears at greenish yellow stage and the ONLY Asian pear that had a melting flesh like European pear if let it ripened on the counter. A truely unique Asian pear. In China they called it Beijing white pear. A must have!!!
Tony
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Wow! They really are white.
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I think you will like this one. This rare Asian pear is very sweet, juicy, and crunchy at greenish yellow but will ripen on the counter like a European pear.
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@tonyOmahaz5- Hi, I bought a pai li recently based on your description. They are also not commonly found. When are they ripe for you? How long on the counter till they turn to euro texture? I’m a euro fan, so not really attracted to the asian crunch and lack of flavor. Do any of the other chinese pears have similar traits? Excited to taste pai li myself. Thanks.
Pai Li ripened around September 20th. It took about 2 weeks on the counter to get the melting flesh. It is so good when first ripened. It mays change your minds about eating it crunchy. It is a very unique Asian pear that can ripened like a European pears as far as I know.
Tony
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Mine has not flowered yet. The melting flesh is what I’m most excited about. Hope it gets as soft as the good Euro’s.
Wonder if it would soften on the tree?
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