In season mid-autumn: Nashi

In New Zealand, speckled and yellowy-green nashi are commonly grown in the Waikato.

They are also known as Asian pears, Chinese pears, Japanese pears and apple pear, as they look like an apple but have a pear taste.

Buying

Choose unblemished, hard nashi. The fruit is picked ripe and doesn’t soften.

Storing

Nashi stores well. At room temperature, nashi will stay fresh for at least two weeks, while in the fridge, the fruit will last for up to three months.

Nutrition

One (150g) nashi has only 190kJ but provides 2g fibre as well as small amounts of lots of nutrients.

Using

Use nashi where pears would commonly be used — in salads, with blue cheese, poached in wine.

More health, less cost: For your healthy week menu plan, choose recipes that use similar veges and fruit used in different ways. For example, use in-season pears or nashi in a Waldorf salad one night then enjoy a pear tart for dessert, another.