Asian Pear Farms From Coast to Coast

I absolutely love Asian pears. They come in dozens of varieties, like Hosui and Shinseiki to name a few. Some have thin yellow or yellow-green skin, some have thicker golden skin. Some are small and round while others are almost as big as a grapefruit. Like apples, they have differing levels of sweetness but are all crisp, juicy, and delicious.

For over 15 years, The FruitGuys has worked with two main Asian pear growers to bring these pears to our clients: one on the East Coast and one on the West. I visited our East Coast partner, Subarashii Kudamono, more than a decade ago when I drove up to Kempton, Pennsylvania, to see the orchard with the team from our Philadelphia facility.

Our East Coast Asian Pear Partner: Subarashii Kudamono

The farm was lovely, tucked away in the rolling hills. I remember turning off a small, tree-lined road and facing a hillside full of fruit trees. Something metallic sparked and waved at the top of the trees; apparently a tactic to keep the birds away.

As we made our way through the orchard, we learned that it was started by an inventor—the founder of Lutron Electronics—after he fell in love with Asian pears during his travels in Japan.
We also visited the packing building, which was a mix of modern and old-school. There was a machine to sort the fruit side-by-side with a worker hand-selecting and packing the delicate pears.

You can learn more about Subarashii’s Asian pears from Farm Manger Tyler Hollenbach and General Manager Mike Maholick in the video below.

Our West Coast Pear Partner: Earthseed Farm

I haven’t visited our West Coast partner, Earthseed Farm (formerly Gabriel Farm) yet, but my brother Chris Mittelstaedt (the founder of The FruitGuys) stopped by in 2021. Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos from his visit.

Earthseed Farm is a solar-powered, organic, permaculture farm that also grows persimmons, apples, berries, and more. The farm’s mission is “to reconnect our communities to our more-than-human kin through environmental education and ecological design rooted in Afro-Indigenous Wisdom.” It’s a pleasure to work with such a robust and mission-driven farm, and I get excited every time their fruit appears in my personal fruit box.

Asian pears are typically available from late summer through early winter. This year, we started shipping them in August—and the season is still going strong across the country. My favorite way to eat them is out of hand from the refrigerator (they’re best stored cold), but they also make a wonderful addition to salad (think Asian pears, goat cheese, and dried cranberries with some balsamic vinegar).

Do you have a favorite Asian pear recipe? If so, let me know—I’d love to share the Asian pear love.

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