From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Also apple pear, Chinese pear, Japanese pear, Nashi, nijisseiki, Oriental, salad pear, sand pear. A firm, but juicy pear that ranges from golden brown to yellow-green. It is noticeably more crunchy than European or North American varieties of pear. There are more than 100 varieties of pears, most of which come from Japan. Nijisseiki, a Japanese hybrid, is one of the most popular Asian pears around the world and is now grown in North America where it is also known as "20th Century pear."
