In season: Asian pears

Cavender said they were originally very excited about the pears as a crop, and went to California to see how the large commercial growers were handling them. “We came back, planted our trees and had some good years, but then fire blight got in,” said Cavender.

Fire blight is a bacteria disease that can ultimately kill a tree. The only prevention is to spray with streptomycin every other day once the blossoms have begun to open.

In addition to worries with fire blight, the pears required a lot of hand work: hand thinning the blossoms and fruit so the remaining pears would reach marketable size, hand picking the fruit when it was ripe and grading each pear by hand.

“Even with all that, as I said, we had some good years. Whole Foods bought a lot of pears from us. We sold some to Asian markets. But when the fire blight set in, we both quit trying to produce these pears. They’re just not happy in our heat and humidity,” said Cavender.

Cavender still enjoys Asian pears, buying his now at the grocery store and keeping them in the refrigerator where they’ll hold well for several weeks.

Unless you find someone with a small local orchard, it’s likely the Asian pears you eat here in Georgia this fall were grown in California. Come February, the stores will start shipping them in from Chile.

Asian pears should be firm to the touch, like apples. Some varieties have delicate skins and that’s why they’re shipped in individual cups. Fragrance is probably the best way to decide if the pears are ripe. They can be eaten out of hand, cut up in salads or baked like an apple.

At local farmers markets

Fruit: apples, muscadines, pears, pumpkins

Vegetables and herbs: arugula, Asian greens, beans, beets, broccoli, butter beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, collards, cucumbers, edamame, eggplant, endive, escarole, fennel, garlic, kale, lettuce, micro greens, mushrooms, mustard greens, okra, southern peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, summer squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, winter squash

Cooking demos this week

9:30 a.m. Saturday, November 6. Chef Kevin Gillespie, Woodfire Grill. Morningside Farmers’ Market, Atlanta. For information: www.morningsidemarket.com

10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. Chef Stephen Herman, Haven. Peachtree Road Farmers Market, Atlanta. For information: www.peachtreeroadfarmersmarket.com

From local reports

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Sesame Steak Salad with Asian Pears

Asian pears are traditionally grated into the marinade for the Korean beef barbecue dish called bulgogi. This recipe turns that grilled beef into an entrée salad with the addition of greens and sliced fruit. To make it easier to slice the beef, freeze the steak for about 30 minutes. Trim any visible fat, and then cut the steak crosswise into 4 pieces. Flip each piece onto a cut edge and slice across the grain, about 1/8 (eighth) of an inch thick. The ginger-garlic paste in this recipe can be found in any store selling Asian food products.

Hands on: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4

2 medium Asian pears, divided

2 scallions, white parts minced, green parts sliced on the diagonal

2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste

1/4 (quarter) cup mirin or sherry

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided

3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided

1 pound boneless beef strip steak, cut into thin slices (see note)

2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 small head Boston lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

1 small heart romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

4 large red radishes, thinly sliced

1 medium seedless cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Cut one pear in half. Core one half and grate it, skin side out, on the small holes of a box grater set in a medium bowl. Discard skin. Set other half aside.

To the grated pear, add the white part of the scallions, ginger-garlic paste, mirin or sherry, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Add the beef and toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.

In a small bowl, make the dressing by whisking the rice vinegar and fish sauce with the remaining tablespoon lemon juice, remaining two teaspoons soy sauce and remaining teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside.

When ready to serve, in a large bowl, toss Boston and romaine lettuce with dressing. Taste for salt. Divide among four dinner plates.

Core and thinly slice the remaining pear and the reserved half pear. In large bowl used for the lettuce, combine pears, radishes and cucumbers. Scatter over lettuce.

Drain the beef and gently pat dry. Discard marinade. Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil, swirl to coat the pan and then scatter half of the beef evenly in the pan. Cook, flipping once, until the beef is nicely browned and barely cooked through, 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Transfer to a medium bowl and repeat with the remaining beef.

Top the salads with the beef and any accumulated juices. Garnish with the remaining scallion greens and serve.

Adapted from Fine Cooking magazine, July 2010.

Per serving: 327 calories (percent of calories from fat, 44), 28 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams fiber, 15 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 51 milligrams cholesterol, 459 milligrams sodium.