ysabetwordsmith | Poem: "Asian Pears"

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This is today's freebie, prompted by LJ user Rhodielady_47.

"Asian Pears"

Crunchy and juicy,
Asian pears are more about
texture than flavor --
so tasty in fruit salads,
refreshing after summer.

* * *

Notes:

The tanka form belongs to the family of Oriental poetry.

Asian pears, also known as apple-pears, have a distinctive texture but not a lot of flavor.

Kigo are words used in haiku and other Asian poetry to symbolize a season. Asian pears represent autumn.

Current Mood: busy
Crossposts: http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/3912655.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

cmcmck

:o)

They're known as nashi pears hereabouts.

From:

ysabetwordsmith

They have a lot of names. I noticed that when researching them. Around here apple-pear is a common name, although I've seen Asian pear too.

From: (Anonymous)

I'm curious as to why they are not considered to have much flavor. I used to live in Tottori Japan which is famous for its pears, at least that's what people in Tottori say, and they seemed to have plenty of flavor to me, and that flavor was in EVERYTHING. Ice cream, shave ice, Popsicles, bread, sold indicidually in grocery stores with ridiculous amounts of packaging to maintain their perfection for exorbitant prices... They were very pear obsessed in my area. Do you think Tottori pears are different? I certainly got an earful about how much more juicy and delicious Tottori pears were on a regular basis, and pears weren't high on my list of foods to try when I was away from that area so I can't say that I have any frame of reference for comparison.

Sincerely,
Firstar28

From:

ysabetwordsmith

Like any other fruit, the variety matters immensely, and the terroir (soil and weather) it's grown in also matters. So one type of Asian pear, or one source, may be quite flavorful while others are bland.

The Asian pears I've tried were bland and unappealing to me, but others might be better.

The European pears I grow in my yard aren't dessert pears, but cooking pears. They're crunchy and not very flavorful when raw. But when cooked, they become sweet and tender -- whereas dessert pears lose both their shape and their flavor.