North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

> I'll start by saying that most so-called Asian type varieties exhibit 
> near true flavor when harvested/consumed directly from the tree.  A 
> few (Olympic comes to mind) will develop enhanced flavors after a 
> couple of months in refrigerated storage but this flavor change is 
> subtle (perhaps a bit more of "butterscotch" than at harvest).


I'm absolutely the last person to judge subtle flavors, as you can tell 
from this story. Last year, I got my first (a total of three) Asian 
pears from my young "Starking Hardy Giant" (from Stark Bros., so who 
knows?) tree. I had absolutely no idea how to tell when it was ripe, so 
I just picked one in early September and tried it. Well, it was sweet, 
and good-tasting, but was it ripe? I didn't have the slightest idea.

So I waited awhile and tried another one. Same thing. Finally, much 
later (but unfortunately, I didn't note the date), I picked the last 
one. It was still hard, of course, and still sweet, and it was clearly - 
obviously - better-tasting than the other two. After that, even I could 
tell that the first two weren't ripe. But I still don't know if the last 
one was perfectly ripe (my guess is that it was), or how to tell when I 
should pick them (although the last one did develop something of a 
golden color).

Heh, heh. At any rate, I have neither the experience nor the taste buds 
to respond to your request. I just thought that my experience was kind 
of funny. I tend to like everything that I grow myself (clove currants 
being the exception), but my opinions aren't shared by others.

:-)

Bill
Lincoln, NE (zone 5)

--
America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies 
the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human 
happiness, and it has prospered. - Louis D. Brandeis