LYNN TWP., Pa.- Harvest season is in the home stretch at Subarashii Kudamono. And what a season it’s been for the farm’s one and only crop: delectable, juice-running-down-your-chin Asian pears.
In fact, it just might be their juiciest yield yet. “Asian pears are always juicy and sweet to a certain extent, but with this intense heat we had this summer and the drier weather, it just amplified the flavor profile,” said orchard manager Tyler Hollenbach.
The lack of rain falling from above forced the trees to draw more water from the mineral-rich soil below. The sugars in the fruit are more concentrated than ever, making the pears exceptionally sweet. “Every season is different in farming and that’s what always creates both challenges and unique outputs and this year was favorable for us,” said general manager Michael Maholick.
The warm temperatures also shifted the calendar a bit when it came time for harvesting this year; typically, it’s picking time beginning in mid-August, but this year, some of the pears were ready to be plucked at the beginning of the month.
If things had gone the other way- think super soggy September- the pears would be sizable and juicy from absorbing all that water, but the flavor profile might not have been as strong. A deluge of rain can also create problems with pests and fungus.
While it’s not possible to control the ever-changing weather forecast, there are ways to be proactive. Subarashii Kudamono invested in a frost mitigation system earlier this year. Maholick described it as akin to a giant wind turbine, a machine that mixes the warmer air from above with the cooler air near the ground. “We believe we saved a lot of our crop this year," he said.
Three of the last six years, prior to installing the system, the orchard saw significant frost damage to its buds and small fruit.
40 years and counting
The orchard, tucked away in northern Lehigh County, is marking its 40th anniversary. It all began with a bright idea from the late Joel Spira and Ruth Rodale Spira, co-founders of Lutron Electronics, which the couple began in the spare bedroom of their apartment in Manhattan.
Joel Spira, inventor of light switch dimmer, founder of Lutron
They first tasted Asian pears while visiting Japan on a business trip in the 1970s. According to company lore, Joel brought back some of the fruit’s seeds and grew them into Asian pear trees in their backyard in Coopersburg.
Ruth, the daughter of J.I. and Anna Rodale, the founders of Rodale Press, and early advocates of organic farming and sustainable architecture, held a bachelor's degree in botany from Wellesley College, and helped cultivate their Asian pears into varieties that would thrive in the local soil and climate.
The fruits of their labor became Subarashii Kudamono, which in Japanese means “wonderful fruit."
The orchard currently offers seven varieties of pears: JunoSan, EliSan, New Pear, AsaJu, AnaSan, LilySan and SuSan. Each one has its own flavor profile. Sink your teeth into an AnaSan, for example, and you might detect melon, spice and rain, while EliSan conjures up hints of kiwi and Granny Smith apple.
Each type is harvested at different times during the season. “We don’t want to have all of our pears ready in August or early September,” Hollenbach said. “They’re staggered.”
And the harvest doesn't happen until the growers are certain each pear is ready. Unlike commercial orchards that harvest en masse according to the calendar, plucking all the fruit whether it's ready or not, Subarashii Kudamono visually inspects each pear before it's cut loose.
Just a few days can bring dramatic change in the fruit's readiness, and that timing is important, Maholick said, because, unlike other pears, once an Asian pear is picked, it won't continue to ripen; it'll maintain its current flavor profile.
There's more wiggle room when it comes to storing the pears, though, they'll last about a week at room temperature, and one to two months if refrigerated.
Taste the harvest
Subarashii Kudamono sells its fresh pears on its website. They come in a number of sampling sizes and varieties. Dried pears are available for purchase as well, and so are a few pantry items, like aged Asian pear vinegar, and Asian pear (cheese) spread.
Maholick said, as the orchard celebrates its 40th year, it continues to innovate. During this interview, he teased some announcements to come in the future. Whatever that might be will build on an already-rich tradition at Subarashii Kudamono, now one of the largest Asian pear growers on the East Coast, and the crafter of a truly unique treat.
“Our fruit is truly only our fruit," he said. "You can’t buy that piece of fruit anywhere else in the world. We take pride in that because it took years of development.”
