Love and pears: a (late) celebration of Valentine's Day

Sunday was supposed to be a day of celebration—of love and the Chinese New Year. For me, however, it was a day of recovery from whatever virus (read "bus") that hit me late in the morning. Since I was out of commission, and have spent most of the week trying to catch up, I'm building on the theme of love late by sharing a recently-discovered delectable: the apple pear, perhaps more commonly know as Pyrus pyrifolia (also called an Asian pear).

If I only I had known...

I had seen these in the grocery store, but the wife (that's Kim to you) doesn't like pears, so I never bothered picking any up. At least, she didn't like them, before they came mixed in a RipeNow shipment. Once unwrapped, we both fell in love at first bite. The harvest for these is coming to an end, but RipeNow has them on special while they're still available, and they were kind enough to send me over a special pear-only package for my birthday a couple of weeks back. It was a delicious present.

Characteristics of asian pears

According to a profile from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), apple (asian) pears:

Asian pears differ from the traditional European ones. These pears are usually round, firm to touch when ripe, and are ready to eat after harvest. Asian pears reach prime quality when they ripen on the tree, like an apple and peach. These pears will be crisp, juicy, and slightly sweet with some tartness, especially near the core.

The CDC also notes that these pears are stable, keeping up to three months in the fridge. We're too tempted to eat them to test this out. Okay, you're turn—what foods are you in love with? Any new discoveries?