The 9th Asian Winter Games concluded on February 14th. This ice and snow festival has attracted tourists from many parts of the country, causing the tourism heat in Harbin to soar. Tourists not only enjoy ice and snow sports, but also taste local delicacies. Recently, the Northeastern specialty cuisine - frozen pears - has successfully gained popularity. Some netizens who cannot go to Northeast China to taste frozen pears are itching and have decided to make their own at home. But both in terms of appearance and taste, homemade frozen pears seem to be very different from those in Northeast China. Netizens can't help but wonder: How are authentic frozen pears made? What pear is best eaten frozen? In order to answer netizens' questions about the "internet famous cuisine" in Northeast China, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily recently interviewed relevant experts. To make frozen pears, one needs to store them, freeze them, and thaw them three times. Ren Aihua, an associate researcher at the Pear Research Laboratory of the Horticultural Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, introduced that to make frozen pears, the harvested pears should be stored at room temperature for a period of time indoors to make their flesh soft and sticky. Then, utilize the natural low-temperature environment in Northeast China to freeze it. At extremely low temperatures, the water inside pear cells gradually condenses into ice crystals, which pierce the cell membrane and release substances such as sugars and acids from the cells. This makes the frozen pear more flavorful. If you want to taste the most authentic frozen pear, you also need a natural thawing process. Soak the frozen pear in water and slowly freeze it. At this point, gently lift the fruit stem to bring out the naturally separated core from the flesh, leaving the skin covered with sweet, sour, and juicy flesh. When eating, gently suck with a straw, and the partially thawed fruit flesh melts in the mouth with ice debris, creating a unique taste. The variety of pears is also crucial. Not all pears are suitable for freezing, and not all frozen pears taste good. After comprehensive analysis, scientists have found that pears that are cold resistant, late maturing, and have a post ripening process are more suitable for being made into frozen pears. In order to cultivate high-quality cold resistant pear varieties suitable for making frozen pears, researchers from the Horticultural Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences have invested in scientific research to attack Guanzhong. In the field of crop genetics research, there is a close linkage between cold resistant genes and "inferior" genes in certain plants, which can limit the cultivation of excellent cold resistant varieties. The research team of the Horticultural Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences has broken this chain relationship. They used the F1 generation of Qiuzi pear as the maternal parent, selected high-quality sand pear and white pear that are geographically and genetically distant as the paternal parent, mixed pollen pollination, and recombined excellent trait genes required for frozen pear such as cold resistance, high quality, and late maturity. They also conducted in-depth analysis of the sources and variety characteristics of major pear varieties such as Longxiang pear, Yuanyue pear, and Korla pear, accurately selecting parents with target genes for hybridization, greatly improving the probability of ideal traits appearing in hybrid offspring, reducing blind breeding, and shortening the breeding cycle. After more than 20 years of screening and experimentation, a variety suitable for making frozen pears called "Dongmi Pear" has been approved and promoted. Ren Aihua introduced that Dongmi pear has thin skin and thick flesh, small pits without residue, sweet and sour flesh, and a rich flavor. Late ripening is a major characteristic of winter honey pears, which provides great convenience for the production of frozen pears. From late September to early October, when other pears have already fallen from the trees and entered the storage, Dongmi pears still hang on the branches like golden lanterns. Due to staying on the tree for a longer period of time, winter honey pears can fully absorb sunlight and nutrients, resulting in more abundant sugar accumulation and better taste. When the winter honey pear matures, it is basically already winter. This provides natural freezing conditions for the production of frozen pears. At the same time, the expert team of the Horticultural Branch of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences has developed a scientific and efficient production method after years of research and practice. They based on the principle of balanced nutrition in fruit trees and adjusted the yield of winter honey pears to around 3000 kilograms per mu through reasonable thinning, in order to ensure that the fruits receive sufficient nutrients. During the critical period of fruit formation, the scientific method of foliar spraying of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers is used to promote sugar accumulation and nutrient transformation in the fruit, and enhance its taste. In addition, relevant experts also use intelligent monitoring systems to monitor the temperature, humidity, and other factors of the post ripening environment of winter honey pears in real time, ensuring that the pear can fully complete the post ripening process before natural freezing, while avoiding fruit decay due to overripe. The combination of high-quality varieties and scientific production methods has led to a rapid increase in the cultivation area of winter honey pears in eastern and southeastern Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province, northern Liaoning Province, and other areas in recent years. (New Society)