Ripe Asian pears are in our markets now, but how do you tell if they’re ripe?

Both ripe and unripe Asian pears are juicy, lightly sweet and crisp. The secret is that ripe ones soften a bit and their flavor achieves a welcome caramel note.

Unlike Bartlett pears, which ripen off the tree, Asian pears ripen on the tree and hold their quality right through Thanksgiving. If picked when unripe, they will ripen over a couple weeks in a bowl on the kitchen counter. But if you put them in a paper bag in the fridge, they’ll store for 3 months.

The best way to enjoy Asian pears is to release all your preconceptions. You might expect the little fruits that look like apples to be sweet, but their sweetness is a subtle, grown-up pleasure of mild sweetness. You might think they’d be acidic, like an apple, but their acidity is mild. Based on what you know about pears, you might expect them to have melting, soft flesh, but they’re crispy whether unripe or ripe, and very juicy.

They are something altogether unique and can be appreciated by themselves or in combinations with other foods that create new experiences.

Core one and cut it in half, then make thin slices from the halves. Squirt them with lime juice and add them to salads for crunchy texture and juiciness alongside salad’s predictable vegetables. If you’re making a fruit salad, add them to acidic fruits like apples and grapes and strongly flavored fruits like raspberries and blackberries.

Their subtle flavor pairs beautifully with dark chocolate. The caramel flavor that comes when they are ripe enhances papaya, mango, chiles, ginger, cardamom, star anise, rice vinegar and honey. Make a dessert by combining bite-size pieces of Asian pear with sweet red raspberries and acidic bits of peeled and chopped kiwi fruit to get an intriguing mix of textures and flavors.

Asian pears are the consummate palate cleanser. If you are tasting through a flight of wines, refresh your palate with an Asian pear granita. Peel, core and rough chop a pound of Asian pears and place in a blender with 1 cup of superfine sugar. Pulse to a medium-fine texture, but not to a smooth puree. It should be grainy. Pour the mixture into a bowl or tray that fits in your freezer and give the mixture a stir every 10 to 15 minutes until it’s frozen and pebbly, but not solid. Serve each wine taster a tablespoon full immediately, preferably in a shot glass. Place the rest back in the freezer until needed.

Slices of Asian pears are also a fine accompaniment to a variety of cheeses, and they work especially well with fresh goat cheese.

Look for labels on any Asian pears you find at markets like Community Market in Santa Rosa and Sebastopol, at farmers markets and at stores like Oliver’s and Whole Foods. Quality varies from variety to variety, but connoisseurs look for those with a delicate perfume and fine-grain texture. Among varieties to look for are Hamese, Hosui, Kosui (the favorite in Japan), Shinko and Shinseiki (also known as New Century).

In Korea, a popular dish is yukhoe, basically a piece of very fresh raw beef tenderloin cut into mincemeat and mixed with soy sauce, garlic, green onion, honey, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, black pepper and pine nuts and served over a bed of Asian pears that are peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks.

Here’s an Asian pear recipe that’s easy and very delicious. It really helps to have a mandoline to make the fruit slices wafer-thin.

3 Asian pears, cored and sliced thinly on a mandoline

2 limes, quartered for easy squeezing

1 sheet of puff pastry (Pepperidge Farm or other brand)

Core the pears. You don’t need to peel them. Slice them very thinly on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. Squeeze lime juice over the slices to prevent browning.

Thaw a puff pastry sheet just enough so you can unroll it. Place it on a baking sheet. Arrange the fruit slices on top, overlapping them in a pretty pattern and leaving 2 inches of bare pastry all around the edges.

Brush the fruit and the bare edges all over with melted butter. Sprinkle the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg evenly over the filling. Roll up edges all around just until the rolled edges touch the fruit filling.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry has puffed and the fruit is lightly browned. Allow to cool before serving.

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