APPEARANCE 
Pale yellow, almost see-through skin with white to beige flesh
AROMA
Mellow but full bodied smell, reminds me of apple and maybe nutmeg and maybe butterscotch though not sweet really
TEXTURE 
Crazy juicy – drips all over, makes a huge juicy mess! Grainy but in a good way – very very crunchy and crispy. Has a dry thin peel, almost like rice paper. The peel isn’t particularly bad, but I could certainly do without it and would love if some mom or dad somewhere would just show up and peel and slice it for me (and then leave) before I eat it.
TASTE
Mild sweetness with a prominent lemon note that isn’t acidic at all. Very rounded, full flavor though subtle.
OVERALL
I don’t tend to be a lover of Asian pears generally as they are all texture and juice with little actual flavor. This one is still mild, but much more interesting and it doesn’t have that annoying aftertaste that so many pears have. Completely lovely.
FRUIT
Asian Pear
VARIETY
Twentieth Century (Nijisseiki)
PEAK
Fall
ORIGIN
Japan
GROWN
Tottori, Japan
PURCHASED
Asian Specialty Market
NOTES
Typically southern California grocery stores and even vendors at the farmer’s market have one kind of asian pear and they have no idea what variety it is – just “Asian Pear”. So I went to the asian market hoping they would have more choices. They had tons of options with the variety names and where they were grown and everything! I was in heaven – Shinseiko, Shinko, Fragrant, Yali, 20th Century, Kosui, Hosui, etc. As I was drooling over the plethora of asian pear options, I turned around to look at their apple selection only to find a pile of “Green Apple” and “Red Apple”. Sweet.
RECIPES
Asian Pear Slaw with Chilies (scroll down for recipe)
Asian Apple Pear Wine
