With the winter solstice closing in fast, I thought we were well past the season for nashi pears. That was, until one of my colleagues arrived with a couple of large boxes sent up from her hometown...
These are Atago nashi from Okayama, and they're definitely special. First because they come into season in December, long after the nashi of early autumn. Since they are aimed at the oseibo year-end / New Year gift market, they come carefully wrapped in individual packaging…
But what really gives them extra cachet is their heft. A standard nashi tends to be about the size of an apple — a large Delicious, say. But these Atago nashi are huge, as big as a grapefruit or a small pomelo.
You can't really tell from my photos, but they're about 20 cm across and these specimens clocked in at just under a kilo each. You get a better idea from these sites: here… and (even more impressive) here…
Atago nashi are a hybrid of two popular varieties, the Nijusseiki ("20th century") and Imamura-aki. The folks in Okayama say it's a natural hybrid — and it's true that these are not GM — but they're certainly the product of some intense arboriculture.
And they certainly taste great — juicy and not too sweet, with a nice acidity. Thanks, Miyahara-san!
