I remember walking around the playground of my elementary school in Chicago and watching the bees get drunk off the fruit of an old pear tree. The bees had so much of the old pears that they could barely move. My friends then proceeded to step on the silly bees. If I knew what I knew today about bees I would have shouted at my friends to let the bees live. They are the ones who make the magic happen and pollinate the world.
The pears I remember were smaller than my hands. They were shaped in a kind of oval and only the ones right off the tree taste good. The ones in the market or at the grocery stores were always too hard or too old.
American pear pic from kamran at freepik.com
These American pears are cute, but they don't cut it for the juice and flavor that the Korean pear brings. Since I moved to Korea I really couldn't eat another American pear.
These Korean pears are used when my mother-in-law makes kimchi. There is a first batch called geotjeori (겉절이). This kimchi is stuffed with everything good, oysters, ginger, garlic, chestnuts and pears. It's quite a treat, but wouldn't be possible with an American pear.
Since we finished making kimchi and visited the countryside I have several of these pears waiting for me to eat. It makes a good side dish, dessert, appetizer and if it gets old it makes a good drink.
I'm not one of those guys that pumps Korea. I love America, but when it comes to pears, there is really no comparison to the pear grown in Korea. These guys are awesome.
I hope you get a chance to try one some day.
The 2 pear pictures in this article are from my cell phone. The other picture is from a free to use source. I hope you got a small taste of autumn Korea through my pictures.
