bartlett

Some people have memories of their childhood that involve summer swims and lakeside cabins or first kisses behind the couch. Some remember a topsy-turvy night out with their compadres. Others remember a sentence that changed their perception like one of those quarter-driven stationary binoculars. I remember fruits.

I remember a peach I ate in 1996. I remember the moist buzz of the skin as I pulled it away from the flesh. I remember the flavor and the juice, the pit's easy release. This peach had a slightly tannic taste but it was wonderful.

I remember a nectarine I ate sometime between 2002-2004. I had rinsed it with tap water from the kitchen faucet, taken a quick bite out of idle hunger and stopped to marvel at its bright, bold perfection. I remember sitting down on the sofa, in the sunlight, telling myself to eat the nectarine slowly so that I would enjoy every bite of the firm, juicy flesh. Its gold color sparkled and the red bleed from the stone reached towards the skin ever so shyly.

Moments ago, I stood in my kitchen and cut bruises from a Barlett pear that I had a suspicion would be delicious. I cut slices away from the core and placed them in a bowl. From the core, I took a few bites of flesh and instantly, I felt its memory forming in the most sturdy parts of my brain. This pear will go down in my tastebud history as one of the greatest to ever exist and then cease to exist by the greedy slurping of my tongue and teeth. Its friends are green with envy, ripening to their pale yellow best on my kitchen counter. This pear was curvy and lumpy like a hardworking mother of 5, grandmother of 15. The flesh near the skin was slightly bitter, its core was a bit acidic. But both qualities brought to life its slippery, soft meat, replete with pear magic.

Go find pears (and pomegranates!) at the farmers markets soon, my food loving friends. May they have been harvested for a worthy reason, not to succumb to spots of mold which according to Chef Dong Choi are "Mother Nature's fingertips coming to take back what's hers."