Asian pears are available in the market from around July and are in season from August to September.

In Japan, there are many varieties of these sweet, juicy pears, so you can enjoy different tastes depending on the season.

However, peeling and cutting them into bite-sized pieces can be time-consuming and troublesome.

An awesome way to slice, serve and share pears

Fortunately for those who love Asian pears, the Twitter account of 全農広報部, the PR Department of Zen-Noh, Japan's National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (@zennoh_food) has some excellent advice on how to do it.

People usually cut Asian pears into wedges, but this method involves cutting them into sticks!

First, cut a pear into slices around 1.5 cm (0.6 inches) in width. Lay the slices down and cut each one again vertically into sticks around 1.5 cm in width. Remove the core and insert a toothpick at the top of each stick. For detailed instructions, refer to this sketch (English translations are ours):

Reproduced with permission from 全農広報部, the PR Department of Zen-Noh (@zennoh_food)

So you go from this...

Reproduced with permission from 全農広報部, the PR Department of Zen-Noh (@zennoh_food)

...to this!

Reproduced with permission from 全農広報部, the PR Department of Zen-Noh (@zennoh_food)

Since Asian pears can be eaten with their skins intact, there seems to be no problem in simply cutting them into sticks.

In many cases, you have to open your mouth wide to eat them if they are cut into wedges, but 1.5 cm wide sticks are easy for even children with small mouths to eat.

This is perfect for when you're hungry or for dessert, and really convenient for sharing with others, not to mention at parties. Why not give it a try?


By - grape Japan editorial staff.