A Cocot (Pyrus australis) is a type of
pear suitable for growing in warmer
climates. It is most similar to a
Nashi pear, with a few differences.
The fruits are a similar shape and size to a small
apple, and are slightly sweeter than your average pear. You can eat them like an apple as they are usually quite
crisp. Their skin is usually coloured
yellow/
green and when fully ripe may have a slight
red/
orange tinge. The fruit are bright
green when
unripe.
It is planted at several places throughout
Australia, however, most plantings of the fruit are on the
NSW north coast.
The
leaves of the plant have these annoying jagged edges which make fruit picking a real
pain. A friend of mine spent a few weeks
fruit picking and to this day will not eat a cocot, due to pain he endured
picking them. A full day's picking (or even an hour) will leave your
hands quite
cut, even if you use
gloves, your arms and neck are often
grazed as they come into contact with the leaves if you pick them all day.
If you can find one in your
greengrocer, choose them in the same way you'd pick an apple or a pear (smell the fruit, discard any with
bruises etc).
As they are more easily
cultivated than pears in a warm climate, theoretically, they should be
cheaper than pears, however, as they're still somewhat of a
yuppie fruit, they tend to be
expensive.