Nashi pear

Poire nashi

What it is

The Nijisseiki — the Twentieth Century, still the standard nashi of Japan — was found in 1888 as a stray seedling on a rubbish heap by a thirteen-year-old named Kakunosuke Matsudo, who dug it up and planted it at home. It was named for the century it was expected to define, twelve years before that century arrived.

In the kitchen

It is a salad and pickle fruit: it holds its crunch when cut and browns far more slowly than a European pear. Grated raw it goes into Korean marinades, where its enzymes tenderise beef — keep the meat in it under an hour, or the surface turns mealy.

Goes with

Rice vinegar Ginger Soy sauce Sesame Beef Gochugaru Walnut Blue cheese

Same species

Pear Perry vinegar Comice pear Poire tapée Williams pear

Also used with

Baek-kimchi Dongchimi

In season alongside

Prickly pear Bell pepper Bettarazuke Cévennes sweet onion Chioggia beetroot Green bean

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