• See also:
• Dessert pear trees21
• Cooking pear trees2

Asian pear trees

Asian pears, or Nashi pears, look like golden apples and have a crisp sweet flavour.

• Asian pear trees

  Hosui

  

  Hosui has perhaps the best flavour of any Asian pear - it is very juicy and very sweet.

  • Picking season: Early
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 4
• Asian pear trees

  Kumoi

  

  One of the most popular Asian pears, with a firm flesh and sweet flavour.

  • Picking season: Late
  • Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 2
• Asian pear trees

  Shinseiki

  

  This popular early-season Asian / Nashi pear variety produces crisp sweet-flavoured pears, which can be kept for up to 3 months.

  • Picking season: Early
  • Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 2

How to choose Asian pear trees

Asian pears, or Nashi pears, belong to the species Pyrus pyrifolia and are closely related to our more common European pears (Pyrus communis).

Despite the close relation, Asian pears have a very different character to European pears. They have a spherical shape, more like an apple than a pear. The flesh is also crisp like an apple.

The fruits are delicate and bruise easily, and hence are not often available in shops, so growing them at home is a good idea. They are usually eaten fresh (and usually peeled), and have a distinctive very sweet flavour, with little or no acidity. The fruits and can be stored in a fridge for a couple of months, or dried or frozen.

Like apples, and unlike most European pears, Asian pears are picked when they are ripe (European pears must usually be picked before they are ripe). Conversely, Asian pears cannot be picked before they are ripe because they will not continue to ripen after picking - another reason why these fruits are rarely available for sale.

Although the fruits may be very different, Asian or Nashi pears grow in a similar way to European pears, and if you have a location which is good for European pears it will also be suitable for Asian pears. Furthermore, Asian and European pears will often cross-pollinate if they are in flower at the same time.